Which muscle tissue is striated and voluntary?

• A. Skeletal muscle tissue
• B. Cardiac muscle tissue
• C. Smooth muscle tissue
• D. Dense connective tissue

Answer: (A)

Striations come from the organized arrangement of contractile proteins into sarcomeres, and voluntary control means you consciously command the contraction through motor nerves. Skeletal muscle tissue has long, multinucleated fibers attached to bones and shows clear striations under the microscope. It is controlled voluntarily by the somatic nervous system, which lets you consciously move your limbs and other skeleton-related structures. Cardiac muscle is also striated but contracts involuntarily, driven by intrinsic pacemaker activity and autonomic input. Smooth muscle lacks striations and is involuntary, controlled by autonomic nerves and local factors. Dense connective tissue isn’t muscle at all. Therefore, the tissue that is both striated and voluntary is skeletal muscle tissue.