smooth muscle

American  

noun

Anatomy.

1. involuntary muscle tissue in the walls of viscera and blood vessels, consisting of nonstriated, spindle-shaped cells.

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smooth muscle British  

noun

1. muscle that is capable of slow rhythmic involuntary contractions: occurs in the walls of the blood vessels, alimentary canal, etc Compare striped muscle

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Etymology

Origin of smooth muscle

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

The study found pro repair signals involving immune modulation, blood vessel and lymphatic development, fibroblast activation, myocardial salvage, smooth muscle cell proliferation, and neurogenesis in rat models.

From Science Daily • May 5, 2026

PIEZO1 operates primarily within the smooth muscle of the uterus, where it detects rising pressure as contractions strengthen.

From Science Daily • Jan. 13, 2026

DNA damage, another hallmark of cancer, accumulated in the mouse and human smooth muscle cells and appears to accelerate atherosclerosis, the researchers found.

From Science Daily • May 1, 2024

To learn more, Reilly and Pan closely tracked the development of transformed smooth muscle cells in mice with atherosclerosis and sampled plaques of people with atherosclerosis.

From Science Daily • May 1, 2024

In general, it controls the tone of the tissues, of involuntary or smooth muscle fibres of the blood vessels and the contractile organs of the body like the intestines, the bladder and uterus.

From The Glands Regulating Personality by Berman, Louis, M.D.