For an assignment I have to differentiate the three types of muscle tissues in these three pictures Muscle cells. I'm having difficulty seeing the striations and branches etc. because the pictures are so small. Am I missing something?

  • $\begingroup$ The first one is cardiac muscle(it has branches and anastomoses(where they join), the second one is smooth muscle(no striations, single nucleus), and the third one is skeletal muscle(striations, circular fiber structure with membranes). $\endgroup$ – Caters May 11 '16 at 1:25

Without answering the problem for you, because you have not shown work yet to try to figure out which is which, let me tell you that you have three options.

  • Skeletal Muscle- striated, peripherally located nuclei, same thickness along length, non-branching
  • Cardiac Muscle- striated, few centrally located nuclei, branches and anastamosis
  • Smooth Muscle- non-striated, centrally located single nucleus per cell, tapering ends

Now, hopefully, based on your pictures, which are indeed sufficient for you to figure out which is which, you can answer your own question. Good luck!

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