Connective tissue ensheathing individual muscle fibres
The endomysium , meaning within the muscle , is a wispy layer of areolar connective tissue that ensheaths each individual muscle fiber , or muscle cell .[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] It also contains capillaries and nerves . It overlies the muscle fiber's cell membrane : the sarcolemma . Endomysium is the deepest and smallest component of muscle connective tissue . This thin layer helps provide an appropriate chemical environment for the exchange of calcium , sodium , and potassium , which is essential for the excitation and subsequent contraction of a muscle fiber.
Endomysium combines with perimysium and epimysium to create the collagen fibers of tendons , providing the tissue connection between muscles and bones by indirect attachment.[ 4] It connects with perimysium using intermittent perimysial junction plates.[ 5]
Collagen is the major protein that composes connective tissues like endomysium.[ 6] Endomysium has been shown to contain mainly type I and type III collagen components, and type IV and type V in very minor amounts.[ 7] Others have found type IV and type V more common.[ 2]
The term cardiac skeleton is sometimes considered synonymous with endomysium in the heart , but cardiac skeleton also refers to the combination of the endomysium and perimysium .
^ Abdulkarim, Ahmad S.; Murray, Joseph A. (2004-01-01), "Celiac Disease" , in Johnson, Leonard R. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Gastroenterology , New York: Elsevier, pp. 278–283, doi :10.1016/b0-12-386860-2/00110-6 , ISBN 978-0-12-386860-2 , retrieved 2020-11-02
^ a b Stecco, Carla; Hammer, Warren; Vleeming, Andry; De Caro, Raffaele (2015-01-01), Stecco, Carla; Hammer, Warren; Vleeming, Andry; De Caro, Raffaele (eds.), "3 - Deep Fasciae" , Functional Atlas of the Human Fascial System , Churchill Livingstone, pp. 51–102, doi :10.1016/b978-0-7020-4430-4.00003-8 , ISBN 978-0-7020-4430-4 , retrieved 2020-11-02
^ Laurent, Rodger (2010-01-01), Sambrook, Philip; Schrieber, Leslie; Taylor, Thomas; Ellis, Andrew M. (eds.), "Disorders of Skeletal Muscle" , The Musculoskeletal System (Second Edition) , Churchill Livingstone, pp. 109–122, doi :10.1016/b978-0-7020-3377-3.00008-1 , ISBN 978-0-7020-3377-3 , retrieved 2020-11-02
^ Saladin, K. S. (2012). Anatomy and Physiology: The Unity of Form and Function. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.[page needed ]
^ Purslow, Peter P.; Delage, Jean-Paul (2012-01-01), Schleip, Robert; Findley, Thomas W.; Chaitow, Leon; Huijing, Peter A. (eds.), "1.1 - General anatomy of the muscle fasciae" , Fascia: The Tensional Network of the Human Body , Oxford: Churchill Livingstone, pp. 5–10, doi :10.1016/b978-0-7020-3425-1.00035-0 , ISBN 978-0-7020-3425-1 , retrieved 2020-11-02
^ Christ, George J.; Passipieri, Juliana A.; Treasure, Trevor E.; Freeman, Phillip N.; Wong, Mark E.; Martin, Neil R. W.; Player, Darren; Lewis, Mark P. (2015-01-01), Vishwakarma, Ajaykumar; Sharpe, Paul; Shi, Songtao; Ramalingam, Murugan (eds.), "Chapter 43 - Skeletal Muscle Tissue Engineering" , Stem Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering in Dental Sciences , Boston: Academic Press, pp. 567–592, doi :10.1016/b978-0-12-397157-9.00047-3 , ISBN 978-0-12-397157-9 , retrieved 2020-11-02
^ Light, N; Champion, A. E. (1984). "Characterization of muscle epimysium, perimysium and endomysium collagens" . The Biochemical Journal . 219 (3): 1017–26. doi :10.1042/bj2191017 . PMC 1153576 . PMID 6743238 .