The Generalised Structure of a Skeletal Muscle Cell

The Biochemistry of Movement > 9.7.5. Muscle cells cause movement by contraction along their length > The Generalised Structure of a Skeletal Muscle Cell >

Describe the generalised structure of a skeletal muscle cell

• Skeletal muscle cells are often called striated muscle cells due to the banded appearance.
• They consist of bundles of fibres. Each fibre is one long, multi-nucleated cell and is made up of bundle of fibrils.
• These fibrils are divided into thick and thin filament sections called striations. The thick appear as dark bands, and the thin appear as light bands.
• Each repeating unit of dark and light bands in a myofibril is called a sarcomere.