The connective tissue covering furnish support and protection for the delicate cells and allow them to withstand the forces of contraction. Skeletal muscle cells (fibers), like other body cells, are soft and fragile. Within the fasciculus, each individual muscle cell, called a muscle fiber, is surrounded by connective tissue called the endomysium. Each bundle of muscle fiber is called a fasciculus and is surrounded by a layer of connective tissue called the perimysium. Each compartment contains a bundle of muscle fibers. Portions of the epimysium project inward to divide the muscle into compartments. Fascia, connective tissue outside the epimysium, surrounds and separates the muscles. Each muscle is surrounded by a connective tissue sheath called the epimysium. An individual skeletal muscle may be made up of hundreds, or even thousands, of muscle fibers bundled together and wrapped in a connective tissue covering. In some muscles the fibers are parallel to the long axis of the muscle in some they converge to a narrow attachment and in some they are oblique.Įach skeletal muscle fiber is a single cylindrical muscle cell. Some skeletal muscles are broad in shape and some narrow. They range from extremely tiny strands such as the stapedium muscle of the middle ear to large masses such as the muscles of the thigh. Skeletal muscles vary considerably in size, shape, and arrangement of fibers. Each organ or muscle consists of skeletal muscle tissue, connective tissue, nerve tissue, and blood or vascular tissue. Acknowledgements Structure of Skeletal MuscleĪ whole skeletal muscle is considered an organ of the muscular system.

Complete anatomy of a muscle diagram