Smooth muscle

Smooth muscle is a type of non-striated muscle, found within the "walls" of hollow organs; such as blood vessels, the bladder, the uterus, and the gastrointestinal tract. Smooth muscle is used to move matter within the body, via contraction; it generally operates "involuntarily", without nerve stimulation. Smooth muscle cells are joined to each other through gap junctions, and a relatively slow wave of contraction is propagated through the muscle. Smooth muscle cells are uninucleic and can sustain contractions indefinitely.

Related Topics:
Striated - Muscle - Hollow organ - Blood vessel - Bladder - Uterus - Gastrointestinal tract - Contraction - Involuntarily - Nerve - Gap junction - Cells - Uninucleic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Smooth muscle condition" is a condition in which the body of a developing embryo does not create enough smooth muscle for the gastrointestinal system. This condition is fatal.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Anti-smooth muscle antibodies (ASMA) can be a symptom of an auto-immune disorder, such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, or lupus.

Related Topics:
Auto-immune - Hepatitis - Cirrhosis - Lupus

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

See also: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, vascular smooth muscle

Related Topics:
Skeletal muscle - Cardiac muscle - Vascular smooth muscle

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~