Physically a multiplexer usually looks like a box of some sort.
More important is what is inside. The inside of a multiplexer
contains a switch or switches, a power supply, and the electronic
circuits to manage the system.
One link is to informative datasheets for a couple of
multiplexer Integrated Circuits from which much can be learned
about multiplexer characteristics. There are many, many more kinds
of multiplexer ICs.