Answer: Cardiac muscle; the intercalated discs and branching let the electrical signal spread rapidly so the heart contracts as one coordinated unit.
- A Skeletal muscle; its long multinucleate fibres allow finely graded, precise voluntary motor control as commonly observed in practice in many documented cases
- B Cardiac muscle; the intercalated discs and branching let the electrical signal spread rapidly so the heart contracts as one coordinated unit
- C Smooth muscle; its unbranched spindle-shaped fibres generate slow, sustained involuntary contractions according to conventional understanding
- D Areolar connective tissue; its loose fibroblast network anchors and cushions adjacent organs in routine practice overall in most cases
Correct answer: B. Cardiac muscle; the intercalated discs and branching let the electrical signal spread rapidly so the heart contracts as one coordinated unit
Explanation: This describes cardiac muscle. Its branched fibres and intercalated discs allow electrical impulses to spread rapidly between cells, so the entire heart contracts in a coordinated, wave-like manner rather than as disconnected fibres.
The four basic animal tissue types and their core functions: epithelial (covering/lining), connective (support and transport), muscular (movement), and neural (signal conduction).
Concept context
The four basic animal tissue types (epithelial, connective, muscular, neural) and the cockroach as a model organism for organ-system level organisation.