QuestionSBA
QuestionChoice
Skeletal muscle is striated, with smooth muscle being non-striated. This is because smooth muscle contains thick and thin filaments that do not arrange into sarcomeres.
10003838
c
Non-striated appearance
QuestionChoice
Smooth muscle consists of spindle-shaped cells, not skeletal muscle.
10003839
d
Spindle-shaped cells
QuestionChoice
This is the correct answer. Peripherally located nuclei are one of the key features of skeletal muscle.
10003836
a
Peripherally located nuclei
QuestionChoice
This is a feature of cardiac muscle, not skeletal muscle. Cardiac muscle has intercalated discs. They are important in cardiac muscle as they provide mechanical strength to hold the myocytes together (the heart is constantly beating) and facilitate rapid communication between cells, allowing them to contract in a wave-like pattern.
10003840
e
Presence of intercalated discs
QuestionChoice
Branched cells are found in cardiac muscle, not skeletal muscle. The branching of the cardiac myocytes allows for the faster spread of the wave of depolarization.
10003837
b
Branched cells
Concept
Chapter
2693
4207
Muscle histology
Topic
183
Physiology & Pathology of Bone
13314
A 34-year-old female presents to her GP with a purple rash on her eyelids and scaly patches on her knuckles. She also complains of muscle pain and weakness.

A diagnosis of dermatomyositis is suspected. To confirm the diagnosis, a biopsy is taken from her biceps muscle.

Which of the following histological features will the pathologist look for when he is reviewing the biopsy sample to confirm he is looking at skeletal muscle?
a