Iris dilator muscle "musculus dilator pupillae", The "Nomina Anatomica" as authorized in 1895 in Basle and in 1935 in Jena used the full Latin expression. Iris dilator muscle The iris dilator muscle (pupil dilator muscle, pupillary dilator, radial muscle of iris, radiating fibers), is a smooth muscle of the eye, running radially in the iris and therefore fit as a dilator. The pupillary dilator consists of a spokelike arrangement of modified contractile cells called myoepithelial cells. These cells are stimulated by the sympathetic nervous system. When stimulated, the cells contract, widening the pupil and allowing for more light to pass through the eye.
Smooth muscle heavy and light chains allow for up to hundreds of different types of myosin structures, but it is unlikely that more than a few such combinations are actually used or permitted within a specific smooth muscle bed. In the uterus, a shift in myosin expression has been hypothesized to avail for changes in the directions of uterine contractions that are seen during the menstrual cycle. The thin filaments that form part of the contractile machinery are predominantly composed of α- and γ-actin. Smooth muscle α-actin (alpha actin) is the predominant isoform within smooth muscle. There are also lots of actin