This teased preparation of skeletal muscle shows the longitudinal and cross striations that classify this type of muscle as striated muscle. Note both the longitudinal striations, caused by the myofibrils that fill the cells, and the cross striations, caused by alignment of the A and I bands of the sarcomeres in adjacent myofibrils. Skeletal muscle is characterized by the presence of multiple, elongated, lightly stained nuclei located just under the plasma membrane. The elongated nuclei external to the muscle fibers belong to fibroblasts and capillary endothelial cells.
Stain = H&E.
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| Copyright by: Paul B. Bell, Jr. & Barbara Safiejko-Mroczka |
The University of Oklahoma