Intercalated disc
| Intercalated disc | |
|---|---|
Cardiac muscle, an intercalated disc can be seen joining cardiomyocytes in magnified section | |
Intercalated discs, desmosomes and gap junctions in cardiac muscle fiber. | |
| Details | |
| Part of | Cardiac muscle |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | discus intercalaris, discus intercalatus |
| TH | H2.00.05.2.02006 |
| Anatomical terms of microanatomy | |
Intercalated discs or lines of Eberth are microscopic identifying features of cardiac muscle. Cardiac muscle consists of individual heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) connected by intercalated discs to work as a single functional syncytium. By contrast, skeletal muscle consists of multinucleated muscle fibers and exhibits no intercalated discs. Intercalated discs support synchronized contraction of cardiac tissue in a wave-like pattern so that the heart can work like a pump. They occur at the Z line of the sarcomere and can be visualized easily when observing a longitudinal section of the tissue.