| Location | Attached to skeleton (limbs, trunk, face) | Walls of visceral organs (gut, blood vessels, bladder, iris, bronchi) | Heart wall (myocardium) ONLY |
| Striations | PRESENT (dark A bands, light I bands) | ABSENT | PRESENT (same as skeletal) |
| Voluntary Control | VOLUNTARY (conscious control) | INVOLUNTARY (ANS, hormones) | INVOLUNTARY (ANS modulates; intrinsic pacemaker) |
| Nuclei | MULTINUCLEATED (peripheral nuclei) | UNINUCLEATE (central nucleus) | UNI/BINUCLEATE (central nucleus) |
| Cell Shape | Long, cylindrical, unbranched | Spindle-shaped (fusiform) | Short, cylindrical, BRANCHED |
| Special Features | T-tubules + well-developed SR | No T-tubules; CAVEOLAE present | INTERCALATED DISCS (gap junctions + desmosomes) |
| Contraction Speed | FAST | SLOW | MODERATE, rhythmic |
| Fatigue | FATIGUES READILY | Resistant to fatigue | NEVER FATIGUES (lifelong) |
| Regeneration | Via satellite cells | Can divide | Very limited (post-mitotic) |
| Pacemaker | None (needs nerve) | Some (e.g., GI pacemaker) | YES — SA node (intrinsic) |
| Sarcoplasmic Reticulum | Very well-developed | Poorly developed | Moderately developed |
| Origin | Myoblast fusion | Individual cell differentiation | Individual cell differentiation |