Muscle, cardiac (EM, High)

Structure List Fascia adherens Gap junction Low Magnification View

At their end-to-end associations, cardiac muscle cells (fibers) are united by special junctions visible under the light microscope as dark lines (INTERCALATED DISKS). These cross the fibers in step-wise fashion at the level of the Z line. Therefore, they have transverse and longitudinal parts. More extensive than a desmosome, the connection is termed a FASCIA ADHERENS.