GENERAL HISTOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -A sarcomere is the basic contractile unit of a myocyte (muscle fibre). A sarcomere is composed of two main protein filaments (thin actin and thick myosin filaments) which are the active structures responsible for muscular contraction.

Detailed explanation-2: -To say that the sarcomere is the functional unit means that all the components needed for contraction are contained within each sarcomere. In fact, muscle is composed of millions of tiny sarcomeres, and each sarcomere shortens, thus resulting in muscular contraction.

Detailed explanation-3: -What Is a Sarcomere? When muscle cells are viewed under the microscope, one can see that they contain a striped pattern (striations). This pattern is formed by a series of basic units called sarcomeres that are arranged in a stacked pattern throughout muscle tissue (Figure 1).