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Chamberlain University-Illinois
BIOS 252
BIOS252 EXAM 1 Questions and Answers
2026 Latest Update
Describe skeletal muscle Ans: -Striated
-Voluntary muscle
-Is 40% to 50% of body weight ("red meat" attached to bones)
-long, slender, multinucleated cells that are organized in parallel to one
another
Describe smooth muscle Ans: -Nonstriated, involuntary, visceral muscle
-Found in walls of hollow visceral structures such as digestive tract, blood
vessels, and ureters
-Contractions not under voluntary control; movement caused by contraction
is involuntary
Describe cardiac muscle Ans: -comprises bulk of heart
-cells branch frequently
-Characterized by unique dark bands---intercalated disks
-intercalated disks allow cardiac muscle cells to contract efficiently as a
whole unit
-Uninucleate
-Striated
-Involuntary control
Identify the similarities between the three types of muscle. Ans: -Smooth
and cardiac are uninucleated, under involuntary control
© 2026 All rights reserved
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-Cardiac and skeletal are striated
Describe Contractibility Ans: ability to contract(shorten)
Describe Excitability Ans: responds to stimulation
Describe Elasticity Ans: ability to go back to resting state
Describe Extensibility Ans: ability to extend or stretch without damage
Endomysium Ans: -Thin sleeve of loose connective tissue around each
muscle fiber
-Allows room for capillaries and nerve fibers to reach every muscle fiber
-Provides extracellular chemical environment for the muscle fiber and its
associated nerve ending
Perimysium Ans: -Thicker connective tissue that wraps muscle fibers
together in bundles---fascicles
-carries the larger nerves and blood vessels as well as stretch receptors---
muscle spindles.
Epimysium Ans: -Fibrous sheath surrounding entire muscle
-on its outer surface, the epimysium grades into the fascia; its inner surface
issues projections between the fascicles to form the perimysium
sarcomere Ans: -Contractile unit of muscle
-Separated from each other by dark bands called Z lines
-Distance between Z disc to a Z disc
I band Ans: -from the end of one thick filament to the beginning of the next
thick filament
-This is what creates the light band
A band Ans: -from the beginning of one thick filament to the end of the
same thick filament
-This is what creates the dark band
© 2026 All rights reserved
Chamberlain University-Illinois
BIOS 252
BIOS252 EXAM 1 Questions and Answers
2026 Latest Update
Describe skeletal muscle Ans: -Striated
-Voluntary muscle
-Is 40% to 50% of body weight ("red meat" attached to bones)
-long, slender, multinucleated cells that are organized in parallel to one
another
Describe smooth muscle Ans: -Nonstriated, involuntary, visceral muscle
-Found in walls of hollow visceral structures such as digestive tract, blood
vessels, and ureters
-Contractions not under voluntary control; movement caused by contraction
is involuntary
Describe cardiac muscle Ans: -comprises bulk of heart
-cells branch frequently
-Characterized by unique dark bands---intercalated disks
-intercalated disks allow cardiac muscle cells to contract efficiently as a
whole unit
-Uninucleate
-Striated
-Involuntary control
Identify the similarities between the three types of muscle. Ans: -Smooth
and cardiac are uninucleated, under involuntary control
© 2026 All rights reserved
, 2 | Page
-Cardiac and skeletal are striated
Describe Contractibility Ans: ability to contract(shorten)
Describe Excitability Ans: responds to stimulation
Describe Elasticity Ans: ability to go back to resting state
Describe Extensibility Ans: ability to extend or stretch without damage
Endomysium Ans: -Thin sleeve of loose connective tissue around each
muscle fiber
-Allows room for capillaries and nerve fibers to reach every muscle fiber
-Provides extracellular chemical environment for the muscle fiber and its
associated nerve ending
Perimysium Ans: -Thicker connective tissue that wraps muscle fibers
together in bundles---fascicles
-carries the larger nerves and blood vessels as well as stretch receptors---
muscle spindles.
Epimysium Ans: -Fibrous sheath surrounding entire muscle
-on its outer surface, the epimysium grades into the fascia; its inner surface
issues projections between the fascicles to form the perimysium
sarcomere Ans: -Contractile unit of muscle
-Separated from each other by dark bands called Z lines
-Distance between Z disc to a Z disc
I band Ans: -from the end of one thick filament to the beginning of the next
thick filament
-This is what creates the light band
A band Ans: -from the beginning of one thick filament to the end of the
same thick filament
-This is what creates the dark band
© 2026 All rights reserved
