Sarcoplasms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The cytoplasm surrounding the nuclei and myofibrils inside a muscle fibre, containing mitochondria and stored glycogen
2. The cellular fluid of a striated muscle cell, in which the contractile filaments are suspended
3. Material filling a muscle cell outside its myofibrils, the cytoplasmic substance of skeletal muscle fibres

Etymology: Sarcoplasms is simply the plural of sarcoplasm, a term from biology built from two Greek-derived parts. "Sarco-" comes from Greek "sarx," meaning flesh, and "-plasm" comes from Greek "plasma," meaning something formed or moulded, which gives the sense of a living substance. Together they name the cytoplasm of a muscle cell, the material surrounding its fibres. Because the word is a modern scientific coinage assembled from classical roots, it was not used by the ancient Greeks, who had no concept of muscle cells as such. Its elements are old, but the combination belongs to the age of microscopy and cell biology.