Fascia (pl. fasciae) is thickened connective
tissue that envelops a muscle or a group of muscles.
The word "fascia" means bandage - a fitting
analogy as the tissue called fascia takes the form of sheets or broad
broad bands of
fibrous connective tissue that cover muscles or organs, forming an outer-wrapping.
There are two types of fascia:
(1) Superficial Fascia, and (2) Deep
Fascia.
Superficial fascia consists of areolar connective tissue and adipose
tissue, and may also be refered to as the "subcutaneous layer" of
the skin. Deep Fascia is more relevant to the study of muscle structures
because it is deep fascia that holds the muscles together. It consists
of dense fibrous connective tissue.
Fascia should not be confused with other layers
of connective tissue located in the structure of muscles, such as
endomysium or
perimysium.
Layers
of muscle tissue:
- Sarcolemma is the cell membrane that encloses each muscle
cell (also known as a muscle fibre).
- Endomysium is connective tissue that wraps each individual
muscle fibre.
- Perimysium is connective tissue that wraps bundles of muscle
fibres - the "bundles" being known as fasicles.
- Epimysium is connective tissue that wraps the whole muscle.
- Fascia (or "deep fascia") covers the entire muscle
and is located over the layer of epimysium.
This Section consists of short summaries about the
structures that form the muscles of the body.
This list is not exhaustive but is intended to be appropriate for students
of A-Level Human Biology, ITEC courses in massage and related subjects,
and some other courses in Health Sciences.
For more general information about Muscles see
the pages about: Anterior
Muscles, Posterior
Muscles, Facial
Muscles, Terminology
about Muscles, and the Structure
of Muscles. |
