Abstract
Intermediate high voltage stereo electron microscopy of rabbit portal-anterior mesenteric vein smooth muscle showed that thick filaments are 2·2 μm long and have tapered ends. In serial transverse sections, groups of three to five thick filaments end or begin within the same section. The intermediate (10 nm diameter) filaments were associated with dense bodies, as noted in previous studies, and were never seen within the substructure of the thick filaments. Actin filaments were found inserting on both cytoplasmic and plasma membrane-bound dense bodies. The greater length of the thick filaments in smooth than in striated muscles and their “parallel arrangement” within the fiber could contribute to the ability of smooth muscle to develop equal or greater tension than striated muscle, in spite of the much lower concentration of myosin in smooth muscle.
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