What are the similarities between striated and smooth muscle?

Answer 1

One obvious similarity is that they are all muscles. This means that they all have actin and myosin which works together to contract a muscle. All types of muscles use this method to make something move.

In skeletal muscle, the contraction allows the bone to move, thereby allowing your body to move. In the heart, the cardiac muscle pumps the blood into the arteries. The smooth muscles in blood vessels are used to pump blood in one direction (in veins, which is in low pressure, there are valves which prevents backflow). The smooth muscles in digestive organs use the muscle to move the food through the digestive track, or the alimentary canal.

Answer 2

Both skeletal and smooth muscle contain actin and myosin filaments, which form cross-bridges in order for the muscle to contract. Both also contain a sarcoplasmic reticulum - which stores calcium. In both muscle types, this calcium allows for cross-bridge formation between the actin and myosin filaments when it is released (it acts directly on myosin in smooth muscle and acts indirectly in skeletal muscle).

Answer 3

Smooth muscles are usually less metabolically active and so not as dark/red as skeletal muscles. They also aren't as striped at the microscopic level.

Answer 4

they are MUSCLES lol