Cardiac muscle and capillary, TEM

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Cardiac muscle. Colored transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of cardiac muscle fibrils (pink) from a healthy heart. Mitochondria (yellow) supply the muscle cells with energy. The muscle fibrils, or myofibrils, are crossed by transverse tubules (dark red lines). These tubules mark the division of the myofibrils into contractile units (sarcomeres). The central structure is a capillary (grey) seen in cross-section, with a bi-concave red blood cell (red) passing along it. Cardiac muscle is under subconscious control and continuously contracts to pump blood around the body without tiring. Magnification: 3200x when printed 10 centimeters across.

Thomas Deerinck, NCMIR / Science Source

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