Skip to main content
myocyte

myocyte

2 8.0
A muscle cell that contracts to make parts of the body move
  • noun
  • /ˈmaɪəˌsaɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : miocito
  • Cardiac myocytes are responsible for the rhythmic contractions of the heart during each heartbeat.
  • cardiac myocytes

So just for space convenience of start to abbreviate cardiac myocytes or heart cells as CMS.

Examples

  • During human development, cardiac myocytes are made by progenitor stem cells and proliferate to form the heart.

    Blog text (15)
  • Most expressed sarcomeric actin, a specific marker for cardiac myocytes.

    Academic text (2003)
  • The upside is we got more efficient cardiac myocytes and better hearts.

    Blog text (15)
  • Once the heart is formed, the myocytes transform from immature cells into mature cells that cannot proliferate.

    Blog text (15)
  • And the beat is triggered by collections of electrically excitable myocytes that rapidly spread synchronized waves of current across the heart.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Ventricular myocytes must depolarize and repolarize—contract and relax—in unison for maximal pumping efficiency.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Myocytes are essential for myocyte contraction, allowing movement in the body.

  • During exercise, the myocytes in the muscles become more active to support physical activity.

Synonyms

muscle fiber
vsmyocyte
  • Specialized
4 3.4

A long cell in the body that gets shorter to make the body move

is the more general cell term focusing on forming tissue and enabling contraction
muscle cell
vsmyocyte
  • Specialized
3 3.0

A long body cell that makes muscles move by becoming shorter and longer

is the single-word technical form of the same name

How Healthy

myocyte
  • Specialized
2 8.0
necrotic
  • Specialized
8 8.2

Surface Forms

myocyte singular
myocytes plural

Morphology

myocyte = cyte (opaque) = myo + cyte

Formed from specialized Greek combining forms (myo- and -cyte) that are unfamiliar to average learners, so knowing one element rarely allows inference of the whole.

Etymology

Myocyte comes from the Greek parts myo- meaning 'muscle' and -cyte meaning 'cell'. A helpful memory is that the myo- part comes from an old Greek word for 'mouse' because people thought a moving muscle looked like a little mouse under the skin. So a myocyte is literally a 'muscle cell', which explains why it contracts to make the body move.