Muscle tissue, in histology, is specialized animal tissue enabling movement through contraction. It’s made of muscle fibers with contractile proteins.
Three types exist: striated skeletal muscle for voluntary movement (long, multinucleated), striated cardiac muscle for involuntary heart contractions (branched, intercalated discs, single nucleus), and non-striated smooth muscle for involuntary organ movements (spindle-shaped, single nucleus).

Histologists identify muscle types by examining fiber appearance and nuclear characteristics to understand their function.