Primarily supporting Florida's tourism industry, this nickname references the great measure of sunshine that falls upon the state each year. The Alligator State This nickname grew from the number of alligators that lived in the streams and swamplands of Florida.
Intercalated discs are microscopic identifying features of cardiac muscle. Cardiac muscle consists of individual heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) connected by intercalated discs to work as a single functional organ or syncytium.hree types of cell junction make up an intercalated disc â fascia adherens, desmosomes and gap junctions. 1  Fascia adherens are anchoring sites for actin, and connect to the closest sarcomere. 2  Desmosomes stop separation during contraction by binding intermediate filaments, joining the cells together.
A Closer Look: Cardiac Muscle Cells. Cardiac muscle cells are rectangular shaped cells connected by regions called intercalated discs. Intercalated discs contain gap junctions and desmosomes. The gap junctions, which are protein-lined tunnels, allow direct transmission of the depolarizing current from cell to cell, across the chambers of the heart, so that the cells contract in unison. Because of the way these gap junctions function, the cardiac muscle cells are said to be electrically coupled. The desmosomes hold the cardiac muscle cells together during contraction, induced by the sliding of the cardiac myofibrils.