Name ___________________________________________ Date _____________ Period ____
Muscle and Nerve Tissue Lab – Microslide of animal tissue (set 51)
Intro: There are 4 primary tissues: epithelial, connective, muscle and nervous. Epithelial tissue
covers surfaces, lines cavities and forms glands. Connective tissue (C.T.) supports and protects
other tissue. Muscle tissue causes movement. Nervous tissue receives and generates nerve
impulses. Organs contain 2 or more tissues working together to perform a specific function.
This lab will focus on muscular and nerve tissue. There are three types of muscle:
smooth, cardiac and skeletal (voluntary). The muscle types are characterized by the shape,
arrangement and location. Nervous tissue forms the brain, spinal cord and nerves. Size and
shape varies slightly, but you will view a typical spinal nerve cell in this lab.
Note: This set includes tissues of muscle, nerve and various C.T.’s. The magnification given
(i.e., 900x) for slide 1 means that the microscope was set at that power when the photograph was
taken.
Directions: Use your notes, the information of pages 84 & 85 of your textbook, and the
information in the booklet to help you complete the following information.
Slide 1:
1. What percentage of the weight of your body is made up of voluntary muscle tissue? ____
2. Draw the voluntary / skeletal muscle tissue below and color. Label the nucleus,
striations, and a muscle fiber.
_________________________________(title).
Magnification ________
3. Why is this type of muscle called “voluntary”? __________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. How large is a voluntary muscle cell? _________________________________________
5. Are there more than one nucleus per cell?
Circle: yes
no
6. The long threads making up the cytoplasm of the muscle cell are called ______________.
7. The fibrils are spotted and it makes the muscle cell look _________________________;
this is why voluntary muscle is also known as _____________________________.
8. Describe what goes on to move a voluntary muscle: ____________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Slide 2:
9. Draw the involuntary (smooth) muscle tissue below and color. Label the nucleus and a
smooth muscle cell.
_________________________________(title).
Magnification ________
10. The muscle you just drew came from the stomach. Unlike the skeletal muscle tissue you
drew in slide 1, the muscle in slide 2 is involuntary because _______________________
_____________________________________________________________________.
11. Describe the form and shape of smooth muscle: ________________________________.
In comparison to skeletal muscle, smooth muscle has a ___________________________
___________________ nucleus and __________________________________________.
12. Besides the stomach, where else is smooth muscle found? _________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Slide 3:
13. Heart muscle is known as: _____________________ muscle.
14. The heart is a hollow organ and is the size of your ______________________.
15. Cardiac muscle has only one nucleus per cell like smooth, but the cells of cardiac muscle
are _______________________________ and are striated like skeletal muscle.
16. Draw the cardiac muscle tissue below left and color. Label the nucleus, intercalated
disks (special junctions between cells), a cardiac muscle cell, striations, branching fibers,
the blood vessel at “C.”
Titles: __________________________
Magnification ________
____________________________
Magnification ________
Slide 8: Spinal Cord
17. Draw the nerve tissue above right and color. Label the nucleus, cell body, dendrites
(smaller multiple fibers), axon (one larger thick fiber extending from the cell body),
nuclei of neuroglia cells, and blood vessels.
18. Another name for nerve cell is _____________________________.
19. Each nerve cell has a main thick _________________________________, which has a
nucleus surrounded by cytoplasm.
20. From the cells body, one or more long fibers extend. Some are short; others stretch out
for several ________________________ to ___________________________________.
Through these fibers, _____________________________________ travel from
_______________________________________________________________________.
21. What parts of the body are made up of nerve tissue? _____________________________,
____________________________________ and _______________________________.
22. Why are there blood vessels here in the spinal cord? _____________________________
______________________________________________________________________.