sarcomere

American  

[sahr-kuh-meer] / ˈsɑr kəˌmɪər /

noun

Biology.

1. any of the segments of myofibril in striated muscle fibers.

---

sarcomere British  

/ ˈsɑːkəʊˌmɪə /

noun

1. any of the units that together comprise skeletal muscle

---

sarcomere Scientific  

/ sär′kə-mîr′ /

1. The contractile unit of a skeletal muscle fiber. Sarcomeres are divided into bands of filaments made of actin or myosin. During muscle contraction, the filaments slide over each other to cause shortening of the sarcomere.

---

Etymology

Origin of sarcomere

First recorded in 1890–95; sarco- + -mere

Example Sentences

Skeletal and heart muscles contract upon the interaction of two types of parallel protein filaments in the sarcomere: thin and thick.

From Science Daily • Nov. 1, 2023

The scientists suspect, that this allows the thick filament to sense and process numerous muscle-regulating signals and thus to regulate the strength of muscle contraction depending on the sarcomere region.

From Science Daily • Nov. 1, 2023

The sarcomere is subdivided in several regions, called zones and bands, in which these filaments are arranged in different ways.

From Science Daily • Nov. 1, 2023

One sarcomere is the space between two consecutive Z discs and contains one entire A band and two halves of an I band, one on either side of the A band.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The thick and thin filaments alternate with each other in a structure called a sarcomere.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013