Cardiac muscle cells are rectangular shaped cells connected by regions called intercalated discs. The cardiac muscle cells are located only in the heart and contain one nucleus and lots of mitochondria, which account for the energy of the cell. It does not have the same organelles as the typical eukaryotic cell; it is missing many. These muscle cells help to pump blood throughout the body, developing the ability to spread electrochemical signals so all of the cells in the heart can pump at the same time. The intercalated disks connecting the cardiac muscle cells keep the cells together under the strain of pumping blood every single day. Cardiac muscle tissue can also set its own contraction rhythm because there are pacemaker cells that stimulate the other cardiac muscle cells. Although there is usually nervous system stimulation to regulate the heart beat, when there is no stimulation, the cardiac muscle cells can also produce a regular heart rhythm. Cardiac muscle cells are one of the three types of muscle tissue.
Sources:
JENNETT, COLIN BLAKEMORE;SHELIA, "cardiac Muscle." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004, Michael Allaby, "cardiac Muscle." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008, and "cardiac Muscle." World Encyclopedia. 2005. "Cardiac Muscle." Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam Research, 01 Jan. 2001. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.
"Pearson - The Biology Place." Pearson - The Biology Place. Pearson Education Inc., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.
Taylor, Tim. "Cardiac Muscle Tissue." InnerBody. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.
I like how you clearly describe cardiac muscle cells and their functions. One question I have is, what organelles are missing in cardiac muscle cells that normal eukaryotic cells have?
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