Normal heart muscle histology (200X)

Normal heart muscle. Image copyright: University of Oslo, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. (Tissue stain: H+E).

Normal cardiac muscle, or myocardium, is composed of specialized muscle cells called cardiomyocytes. These cells have a striated appearance, similar to skeletal muscle, but are also branched and interconnected by structures called intercalated discs. Intercalated discs contain gap junctions and adherens junctions, which allow for rapid transmission of electrical impulses and coordinated contraction of the entire heart.

Published March 27th 2023, updated May 10th 2023.