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CHAPTER 6 - NERVOUS TISSUE
Histology Guide
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MICROGRAPH

NAME
EM 230 Neuromuscular Junction
TISSUE
Skeletal Muscle
IMAGE SIZE
8,099 x 9,687 pixels
235 MB
FILE SIZES
35.8 MB (grayscale)
39.8 MB (color)
MAGNIFICATION
Unknown
PIXEL SIZE
0.5532 nm
SOURCE
John E. Heuser
Department of Cell Biology and Physiology
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, MO

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EM 230 Neuromuscular Junction

Neuromuscular Junction

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of a neuromuscular junction.

Neuromuscular junctions are specialized synapses where the terminal branches of an axon from a motor neuron contact a skeletal muscle cell to trigger muscle contraction.

  • (orange) - contain the neurotransmitter acetylcholine
    • - (yellow) cluster around specialized regions of the presynaptic membrane
    • Contains mitochondria (red) and smooth endoplasmic reticulum (cyan)
    • Schwann cell (tan) - continues to cover the terminal
      • Extend small processes that intrude between the terminal and the muscle cell
  • - narrow gap between the axon terminal and the muscle cell
    • (purple) - covers the Schwann cell and merges with that of the muscle cell and continues into the synaptic cleft
    • Acetylcholinesterase - contains the enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine after it is released, preventing continuous muscle stimulation
  • (motor end plate) - shallow depression in the skeletal muscle cell
    • Junctional Folds - invaginations that increase the surface area exposed to the synaptic cleft
    • Acetylcholine binding to receptors opens Ca2+ channels, triggering muscle contraction

Courtesy of John E. Heuser, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Washington University, St. Louis, MO.

Skeletal Muscle Cell

in the skeletal muscle cell (green) are visible.

  • A Bands (dark blue) - thick, myosin filaments with interdigitating thin, actin filaments
  • I Bands (light blue) - thin, actin filaments
  • Z Lines (purple)
  • H Bands (light blue)
  • M Line (bluish-purple)
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