Smooth muscle
Smooth muscle is is a type of non-
striated muscle, found within the "walls" of hollow organs; such as blood vessels, bladders,
uteri. gastrointestinal tracts, Smooth muscle is used to move
matter within the body, via
contraction; it generally operates "
involuntarily", without
nerve stimulation. Smooth muscle cells are joined to each other through gap junctions, and a relatively slow wave of contraction is propagated through the muscle. Smooth muscle cells are
uninucleic and can sustain contractions indefinitely.
See also: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle