These are about 8 nm in diameter and, being the thinnest of the cytoskeletal filaments, are also called microfilaments. (In skeletal muscle fibers they are called thin filaments.) Some functions of actin filaments: 1  form a band just beneath the plasma membrane that.  provides mechanical strength to the cell.
Muscle tissue varies with function and location in the body. In mammals the three types are: skeletal or striated muscle; smooth or non-striated muscle; and cardiac muscle, which is sometimes known as semi-striated.n vertebrates, there is a third muscle tissue recognized: 1  Cardiac muscle (myocardium), found only in the heart, is a striated muscle similar in structure to skeletal muscle but not subject to voluntary control.
Muscle action can be classified as being either voluntary or involuntary. Cardiac and smooth muscles contract without conscious thought and are termed involuntary, whereas the skeletal muscles contract upon command. Skeletal muscles in turn can be divided into fast and slow twitch fibers. Smooth muscle or involuntary muscle is found within the walls of organs and structures such as the esophagus, stomach, intestines, bronchi, uterus, urethra, bladder, blood vessels, and the arrector pili in the skin (in which it controls erection of body hair).