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Myofibrils

Myofibrils are long, cylindrical rod-like organelles found in muscle fibres. They are made of proteins actin and myosin and are the contractile elements of the muscle fibre. They are lined up so that when they all contract together they provide the maximum force possible.The striped appearance is due to alternating light and dark bands. These are the result of the juxtaposition of adjacent functional units called sarcomeres.

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Specification: OCR Biology A (H420), A-level, 5.1.5 Plant and animal responses. Topic: Muscles.

Key terms in this lesson

Ectotherm
An organism that relies mainly on external sources of heat to regulate its body temperature.

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