Sarcolemma

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Sarcolemma
Skeletal muscle fibre, with sarcolemma labeled at upper left.
Details
Location	Striated muscle tissue
Function	Cell membrane
Identifiers
MeSH	D012508
TH	H2.00.05.0.00003
Anatomical terminology [edit on Wikidata]

The sarcolemma (sarco (from sarx) from Greek; flesh, and lemma from Greek; sheath), also called the myolemma, is the

It consists of a lipid bilayer and a thin outer coat of polysaccharide material (glycocalyx) that contacts the basement membrane. The basement membrane contains numerous thin collagen fibrils and specialized proteins such as laminin^[3] that provide a scaffold to which the muscle fibre can adhere. Through transmembrane proteins in the plasma membrane, the actin skeleton inside the cell is connected to the basement membrane and the cell's exterior. At each end of the muscle fibre, the surface layer of the sarcolemma fuses with a tendon fibre, and the tendon fibres, in turn, collect into bundles to form the muscle tendons that adhere to bones.

The sarcolemma generally maintains the same function in muscle cells as the plasma membrane does in other

.

A special feature of the sarcolemma is that it

in nonmuscle cells). A transverse tubule surrounded by two SR cisternae are known as a triad, and the contact between these structures is located at the junction of the A and I bands.

References