Questions: Place in order, from largest to smallest, the components of a skeletal muscle.
Filaments
Fascicle
Muscle fiber
Muscle
Myofibril
Transcript text: Place in order, from largest to smallest, the components of a skeletal muscle.
Filaments
Fascicle
Muscle fiber
Muscle
Myofibril
Solution
The components of a skeletal muscle, from largest to smallest, are ordered as follows:
Muscle: This is the entire organ composed of multiple fascicles, connective tissue, blood vessels, and nerves.
Fascicle: A bundle of muscle fibers (cells) within the muscle, surrounded by a layer of connective tissue called the perimysium.
Muscle fiber: Also known as a muscle cell, this is a single cylindrical cell that contains multiple myofibrils. Muscle fibers are surrounded by a plasma membrane called the sarcolemma.
Myofibril: These are long, thread-like structures found within muscle fibers. They are composed of repeating units called sarcomeres, which are the basic functional units of muscle contraction.
Filaments: These are the smallest components, consisting of actin (thin filaments) and myosin (thick filaments) proteins that interact to produce muscle contraction within the sarcomeres of myofibrils.
In summary, the order from largest to smallest is: