Intercalated disc

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An intercalated disc is an undulating double membrane separating adjacent cells in cardiac muscle fibers. Intercalated discs support synchronized contraction of cardiac tissue. They can easily be visualized by a longitudinal section of the tissue.

Three types of membrane junctions exist within an intercalated disc—fascia adherens, macula adherens, and gap junctions.

  • Fascia adherens are anchoring sites for actin, and connects to the closest sarcomere.
  • Macula adherens stop separation during contraction by binding intermediate filaments joining the cells together also called a desmosome.
  • Gap junctions allow action potentials to spread between cardiac cells by permitting the passage of ions between cells, producing depolarization of the heart muscle.

When observing cardiac tissue through a microscope, intercalated discs are an identifying feature of cardiac muscle.

v • d • e
Histology: muscle tissue
skeletal muscle/general epimysium, fascicle, perimysium, endomysium, muscle fiber (intrafusal, extrafusal), myofibril

sarcomere (a, i, and h bands; z and m lines), myofilaments (thin filament/actin, thick filament/myosin, elastic filament/titin, nebulin), tropomyosin, troponin (T, C, I)

costamere (dystrophin, α,β-dystrobrevin, syncoilin, synemin/desmuslin, dysbindin, sarcoglycan, dystroglycan, sarcospan), desmin

neuromuscular junction, motor unit, muscle spindle, excitation-contraction coupling, sliding filament mechanism

myoblast, satellite cell, sarcoplasm, sarcolemma, sarcoplasmic reticulum, T-tubule
cardiac muscle myocardium, intercalated disc, nebulette
smooth muscle calmodulin, vascular smooth muscle
 This cardiovascular system article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercalated_disc"
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