GENERAL HISTOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Intercalated discs are part of the cardiac muscle sarcolemma, so they also contain gap junctions for depolarization between muscle fibers and desmosomes that hold the fibers together during cardiac muscle contraction (Fig.

Detailed explanation-2: -Cardiac muscle cells are equipped with three distinct types of intercellular junction–gap junctions, “spot” desmosomes, and “sheet” desmosomes (or fasciae adherentes)–located in a specialized portion of the plasma membrane, the intercalated disk.

Detailed explanation-3: -Gap junctions are membrane channels that mediate the cell-to-cell movement of ions and small metabolites. In the heart, gap junctions play an important role in impulse conduction. Studies over the last decade have revealed that gap junctions are encoded by a multigene family known as the connexins.