Temporal pattern of a cell - Essay Example

The cardiac myocyte is an extremely active cell and it contracts one to three times in one second. This contractility is far greater than the contraction of the skeletal muscle. Owing to this, the cardiac myocyte requires a large amount of energy in the form of ATP. The high metabolism of the cardiac myocyte is the reason why these cells possess an extensive amount of mitochondria. Furthermore, the cardiac myocyte also cannot generate ATP without oxygen. It meets its demand of generating ATP oxidatively by utilizing different energy sources which include fatty acids, lactate and glucose (Klabunde 2005).

The cardiac myocyte has the capability of altering its function of contraction as per the requirements of the human body. Its contractility varies throughout the different times of the day according to the needs of the body. Another important feature of the cardiac myocyte is that this cell does not have the capability of undergoing mitosis and the cells do not increase in number. But when there is a greater load, the cardiac myocyte undergoes the process of hypertrophy to compensate for the increased work load (Abel & Wilkins 2004; Hill & Olsen 2012; Walker & Spinale 2006).

The cardiac myocyte exhibits varying functions over the 24 hour interval. During the period of sleep, the cardiac myocyte maintains decreased contraction and the metabolic needs of the cardiac myocytes are also low. This is owing to the fact that the body is not in need of an increased blood supply and is in a resting state. The major factor which is responsible in the maintenance of the changing functions of the cardiac myocyte is the calcium ions. During the hours of sleep, the entry and the exit of the calcium ions in the cardiac myocyte are very low.

This is the main reason why the cardiac myocyte retains slow contractions (Hill and Olson 2012). When an individual wakes up, the cardiac myocyte starts functioning at a faster pace. An important research has