Assertion: Muscle fibre is a syncitium.Reason: Muscle fibre has a larg...
Muscle fibre is a syncitium as the sarcoplasm contains many nuclei. A characteristic feature of the muscle fibre is the presence of a large number of parallelly arranged filaments in the sarcoplasm called myofilaments or myofibrils. Each myofibril has alternate dark and light bands on it.
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Assertion: Muscle fibre is a syncitium.Reason: Muscle fibre has a larg...
Understanding the Assertion and Reason
The assertion states that muscle fibers are a syncytium, while the reason given is that muscle fibers contain a large number of parallelly arranged myofilaments in the sarcoplasm.
What is a Syncytium?
- A syncytium is a multi-nucleated cell that results from the fusion of multiple cells.
- Muscle fibers, particularly skeletal muscle fibers, are indeed syncytial structures because they form from the fusion of myoblasts during development.
Role of Myofilaments
- Myofilaments (actin and myosin) are the contractile proteins found in muscle fibers.
- While their arrangement is crucial for muscle contraction, it does not define the syncytial nature of the muscle fiber.
Analysis of the Assertion
- The assertion that muscle fibers are a syncytium is true because they contain multiple nuclei per fiber, which is characteristic of a syncytium.
Analysis of the Reason
- The reason provided, that muscle fibers have a large number of parallelly arranged myofilaments, is true but does not explain why muscle fibers are syncytial.
- The arrangement of myofilaments is related to the function of muscle contraction, not the structural characteristic of being a syncytium.
Conclusion
- Since both the assertion and reason are true, but the reason does not explain the assertion, the correct answer is option 'B' – both Assertion and Reason are true but Reason is not the correct explanation of Assertion.