myosin filament

Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Encyclopedia.

Related to myosin filament: sarcomere, tropomyosin, actin filament

filament

[fil´ah-ment]

1. a delicate fiber or thread.

2. in an x-ray tube, the wire (cathode) that makes electrons available for interaction with the anode when it is heated to incandescence to form an electron cloud.

actin filament one of the thin contractile filaments in a myofibril, composed mainly of actin; each actin filament is surrounded by three myosin filaments.

myosin filament one of the thick contractile filaments in a myofibril, composed mainly of myosin; each myosin filament is surrounded by six actin filaments.

my·o·sin fil·a·ment

one of the contractile elements in skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle fibers; in skeletal muscle, the filament is about 15 nm thick and 1.5 mcm long.

Synonym(s): thick filament

my·o·sin fil·a·ment

(mī'ō-sin fil'ă-mĕnt)

One of the contractile elements in skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle fibers; in skeletal muscle, the filament is about 10 nm thick and1.5 mcm long.

References in periodicals archive ?

(1998) Extensibility of the Actin and Myosin Filaments in Various States of Skeletal Muscle as Studied by X-ray Diffraction.

Single molecule detection, thermal fluctuation and life

The rest of the body of the sportsperson is analogous to the body of myosin filament. When myosin heads try to pull actin filaments, which are attached to the first Z disc of origin end side, power generated by myosin heads may be insufficient to pull that Z disc along with actin filaments.

New hypothesis for mechanism of sliding filament theory of skeletal muscle contraction

Smooth muscle cells possess the contractile apparatus of actin and myosin filaments and the cytoskeleton with the membrane skeleton, which provides the interface between the contractile machinery on the inside of the cell and the extracellular matrix on the outside, to which force must be transmitted.

Altered cytoskeleton in smooth muscle of aganglionic bowel

These observations suggest that myosin filaments are transported as passive passengers to the actin cortex rather than through their own motor activity.

Reconstitution of active pseudo-contractile rings and myosin-II-mediated vesicle transport in extracts of clam Oocytes

The theory I support suggests that damage to the actin and myosin filaments in skeletal muscle after performing unaccustomed eccentric contractions causes DOMS.