Abstract
More than 80% of the volume of an adult muscle fibre is occupied by myofilaments. There are two types: (a) thick myosin filaments, 1.6 μm long and 12–14 nm in diameter, and (b) thin actin filaments, 0.98 μm long and 5–7 μm in diameter (frog, Page and Huxley 1963). The myofilaments are oriented in the fibre axis and are overlappingly arranged in transverse register such that bands occur consisting of thick or thin filaments, or of both. Light microscopy therefore shows a distinct cross-banding pattern; a faint longitudinal striation due to the sarcoplasmic elements between bundles of filaments may be seen as well.
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© 1985 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Schmalbruch, H. (1985). Skeletal Muscle Fibres. In: Skeletal Muscle. Handbook of Microscopic Anatomy, vol 2 / 6. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-82551-4_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-82551-4_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-82553-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-82551-4
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