Definition of Smooth muscle

1. Noun. A muscle that contracts without conscious control and found in walls of internal organs such as stomach and intestine and bladder and blood vessels (excluding the heart).

Exact synonyms: Involuntary Muscle
Generic synonyms: Muscle, Musculus
Specialized synonyms: Myometrium, Musculus Sphincter Ani Internus

2. Noun. Muscle tissue that does not appear striated under the microscope; has the form of thin layers or sheets.
Generic synonyms: Muscle, Muscular Tissue
Terms within: Smooth Muscle Cell

Definition of Smooth muscle

1. Noun. (muscle) Involuntary muscle which is found within the intestines, throat, uterus, and blood vessel walls. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Medical Definition of Smooth muscle

1. Muscle tissue in vertebrates made up from long tapering cells that may be anything from 20-500m long. Smooth muscle is generally involuntary and differs from striated muscle in the much higher actin/myosin ratio, the absence of conspicuous sarcomeres and the ability to contract to a much smaller fraction of its resting length. Smooth muscle cells are found particularly in blood vessel walls, surrounding the intestine (particularly the gizzard in birds) and in the uterus. The contractile system and its control resemble those of motile tissue cells (e.g. Fibroblasts, leucocytes) and antibodies against smooth muscle myosin will cross react with myosin from tissue cells, whereas antibodies against skeletal muscle myosin will not. See: dense bodies. This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology (11 Mar 2008)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Smooth Muscle

smooth darling pea
smooth diet
smooth dogfish
smooth down
smooth earthball
smooth endoplasmic reticulum
smooth fox terrier
smooth fox terriers
smooth green snake
smooth hammerhead
smooth jazz
smooth leprosy
smooth lip fern
smooth manifold
smooth microsome
smooth muscle (current term)
smooth muscle cell
smooth muscle relaxant
smooth muscle tissue
smooth muscle tumour
smooth muscular sphincter
smooth operator
smooth operators
smooth out
smooth over
smooth plane
smooth sailing
smooth snake
smooth snakes
smooth softshell

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