striated muscle /strī″ātid/ [L, striatus, striped, musculus, muscle] , any muscle, including all of the skeletal muscles, in which the fibers are divided by bands of cross-striations (stripes) as a result of overlapping of thick and thin myofilaments. Contractions in such muscles are voluntary. The heart, a striated involuntary muscle, is an exception. Cardiac muscle is often placed in its own category because it has microanatomical and contraction physiological characteristics very different from those of most striated muscle. Also called skeletal muscle, voluntary muscle. Compare cardiac muscle, smooth muscle.
