VAN 211: Veterinary Histology and Embryology (2+2)

MUSCULAR SYSTEM

• The muscular system consists of specialised cells - the muscle fibres which are of three varieties, skeletal, plain and cardiac.
• These are differentiated from the myoblasts which are derived from the mesoderm.
• The smooth muscle fibres of the iris and sweat glands are ectodermal.
• The muscles originate in the myotomes.
• The visceral (plain and cardiac) musculature is developed from the splanchnic mesoderm that surrounds the gut and heart.