cardiac muscle

noun

: the principal involuntary-muscle tissue of the vertebrate heart made up of striated fibers joined at usually branched ends and functioning in synchronized rhythmic contraction

Examples of cardiac muscle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Cardiologists may also recommend drugs to restore a more normal heartbeat, including beta blockers or calcium channel blockers, which work by lowering the heart’s pumping rate and giving the cardiac muscles a bit of a biological break. —Lori Oliwenstein, TIME, 12 Sep. 2024

Muscle mass refers to the total amount of muscle in the body, including skeletal muscle mass and cardiac muscles. —Andi Breitowich, Women's Health, 4 Aug. 2023

There are three main types of muscle tissue: smooth muscle lines the gut wall and organs, except the heart; cardiac muscle is striated and covers the heart; and skeletal muscle, which can be found in the arms and legs, is also striated. —Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 2 July 2023

Decreased autophagy in cardiac muscle cells results in accumulating cellular garbage that can affect their ability to contract and even cause their death. —Justin Quiles, The Conversation, 8 Feb. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

cardiac muscle

noun

: the principal muscle tissue of the vertebrate heart that is made up of elongated striated muscle fibers each of which consists of a single cell that has an intrinsic rhythm of contraction and relaxation even when isolated, is joined physically at its often branched ends to other such cells by intercalated discs, and in intact myocardial tissue is synchronized to function in contraction especially by electrical signals of extrinsic origin passing through gap junctions in the intercalated discs compare smooth muscle, striated muscle