How does the connective tissue sheath help organize smooth muscle function?
8) Describe myoepithelial cells, or myofibroblasts and their functions. 9) What disease states involve smooth muscle cells? What are the major histological features of smooth muscle? Smooth muscle cells are spindle shaped. They have one centrally placed nucleus per cell and are usually organized in small clusters of cells. Fine collagenous, reticular connective tissue separates each cell and the bundles. One way to distinguish smooth muscle from striated muscle is the absence of the regular pattern of sarcomeres (no A, I bands or Z lines). Smooth muscle cells also have only one nucleus. In that sense they are like cardiac muscle cells. Smooth muscle cells can be distinguished from connective tissue by their organized appearance. They are usually in a homogeneous bundle or sheet of cells rather than scattered single cells. Fibroblasts, on the other hand, are scattered throughout the connective tissue in isolated groups. The major challenge, however is distinguishing dense regular connec
