cardiomyocyte

Examples of cardiomyocyte in the following topics:

• Myocardial Thickness and Function

  • The myocardium (cardiac muscle) is the thickest section of the heart wall and contains cardiomyocytes, the contractile cells of the heart.
  • The myocardium, or cardiac muscle, is the thickest section of the heart wall and contains cardiomyocytes, the contractile cells of the heart.
  • Cardiomyocytes are shorter than skeletal myocytes and have fewer nuclei.
  • The myosin head also binds to ATP, the source of energy for cellular metabolism, and is required for the cardiomyocytes to sustain themselves and function normally.
  • Cardiomyocytes have a large number of mitochondria, enabling continuous aerobic respiration.

• Mechanism and Contraction Events of Cardiac Muscle Fibers

  • Cardiomyocytes are capable of coordinated contraction, controlled through the gap junctions of intercalated discs.
  • The mechanism for CIRC is that receptors within the cardiomyocyte will bind to calcium ions when calcium ion channels open during depolarization, and will release more calcium ions into the cell.
  • An action potential, induced by the pacemaker cells (in the SA and AV nodes), is conducted to contractile cardiomyocytes through gap junctions.
  • As the action potential travels between sarcomeres, it activates the calcium channels in the T-tubules, resulting in an influx of calcium ions into the cardiomyocyte.

• Microscopic Anatomy

  • Cardiac muscles are composed of tubular cardiomyocytes, or, cardiac muscle cells.
  • Intercalated discs are gap junctions that link cardiomyocytes together so that electrical impulses (action potentials) can travel between cells.
  • In cardiac muscle, intercalated discs connecting cardiomyocytes to the syncytium, a multinucleated muscle cell, to support the rapid spread of action potentials and the synchronized contraction of the myocardium.

• Layers of the Heart Walls

  • It is composed of cardiac muscle cells, or cardiomyocytes.
  • Cardiomyocytes are specialized muscle cells that contract like other muscle cells, but differ in shape.
  • Due to their continuous rhythmic contraction, cardiomyocytes require a dedicated blood supply to deliver oxygen and nutrients and remove waste products such as carbon dioxide from the cardiac muscle tissue.
  • The endocardium may regulate metabolic waste removal from heart tissues and act as a barrier between the blood and the heart muscle, thus controlling the composition of the extracellular fluid in which the cardiomyocytes bathe.

• Energy Requirements

  • Cardiomyocytes contain large numbers of mitochondria, the power house of the cell, enabling continuous aerobic respiration and production of ATP, which is required for mechanical muscle contraction.