Connective tissue in skeletal muscle

Each skeletal muscle consists of two kinds of tissue: connective tissue, and muscle tissue. Connective tissue of skeletal muscle contains:

• Layers of connective tissue
• Tendon, and sometimes aponeurosis

The layers of connective tissue have a major role in protection and covering of muscle fibers, muscle fascicles, and an entire skeletal muscle. Tendons attach the skeletal muscles to bones. Aponeurosis is structurally as tendon that connects the muscles together, or to bone.

Layers of connective tissue

There are three layers of connective tissue in a skeletal muscle:

• Epimysium
• Perimysium
• Endomysium

These layers are considered as part of each skeletal muscle.

Epimysium

The epimysium surrounds the whole skeletal muscle. This is a dense layer of connective tissue. Fascia lies over the epimysium.

Perimysium

The perimysium encompasses the muscle fascicles. A fascicle contains a group of muscle fibers (or muscle cells). There are blood vessels and nerves in the perimysium to muscle fascicles.

Endomysium

The endomysium surrounds each single muscle fiber. A muscle fiber is known as a muscle cell. The endomysium separates the muscle fibers of a fascicle. This is a thin, delicate covering of connective tissue.

Layers of a tendon

Tendon is a dense connective tissue that attaches the muscle to bone, or to other muscles. Their collagen fibers contain the primary and secondary fascicles. The layers of connective tissue in each tendon from outside to inside include:

• Paratenon
• Epitenon
• Endotenon

Features

Connective tissue of skeletal muscle has two important characteristics:

• Extensibility (ability to stretch)
• Elasticity (ability to return to its original shape after stretching)

In addition to the above features, muscle tissue has other two properties:

• Irritability
• Contractility (ability to contract)

See also

• Endomysium
• Perimysium
• Epimysium
• Connective tissue in the peripheral nervous system

References

• Williams & Warwick. Gray's Anatomy. Thirty-seventh edition. Churchill Livingstone. ISBN 0-443-04177-6
• William E.Prentice. Rehabilitation technique in sports medicine.
• Darlene Hertling and Randolph M.Kessler. Management of Common Musculoskeletal Disorders. Third Edition. ISBN 0-397-55150-9