This document summarizes the structure and function of the three main types of muscle tissues - skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscle. It describes the sarcomere as the basic contractile unit of myofibrils composed of thin actin filaments and thick myosin filaments. Contraction occurs via the sliding filament mechanism when myosin cross-bridges attach to and pull on actin filaments, shortening the sarcomere. Key regulatory proteins troponin and tropomyosin prevent contraction in low-calcium conditions by blocking the actin-myosin interaction.