Sarcoplasm

Sarcoplasm

Muscle system
Details
Latin sarcoplasma
Identifiers
Code TH H2.00.05.0.00004
Anatomical terminology

The sarcoplasm of a muscle fiber is comparable to the cytoplasm of other cells, but it contains unusually large amounts of glycosomes (granules of stored glycogen) and significant amounts of myoglobin, an oxygen binding protein. The calcium concentration in sarcoplasma is also a special element of the muscular fiber by means of which the contractions take place and regulate.

It contains mostly myofibrils (which are composed of sarcomeres), but its contents are otherwise comparable to those of the cytoplasm of other cells. It has a Golgi apparatus, near the nucleus, mitochondria just on the inside of the cytoplasmic membrane or sarcolemma, as well as a smooth endoplasmic reticulum organized in an extensive network.

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