FB2026_03 , released September 17, 2026
CV Term Report
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Term visceral muscle cell ID (Ontology) FBbt:00005070 (Fly Anatomy)
Definition Muscle cell of a muscle that moves the viscera, usually with a peristaltic or compressing function, and has only one or, commonly no attachment to the body wall. Visceral muscles differ from somatic muscles in several respects: adjacent fibers are held together by desmosomes, each fiber is uninucleate and the contractile material is not grouped into fibrils but packs the whole fiber. The visceral musculature comprises musculature of the intestine, reproductive system and circulatory system (Miller, 1950). The circular fibers derive from a bilaterally symmetrical band of mesodermal cells extending continuously throughout most of the germ band. The longitudinal fibers derive from clusters of mesodermal cells which appear during stage 12 at the posterior end of the embryo and migrate anteriorly.[ FlyBase:FBrf0007735 FlyBase:FBrf0064793 FlyBase:FBrf0089570 FlyBase:FBrf0239227 ]
CommentIt is quite common to refer to visceral muscles as smooth muscles, by analogy with vertebrates; however most visceral (and somatic) muscles in Drosophila are actually striated (Miller, 1950; Bate, 1993).
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Data ClassFieldDirect annotations
Alleles (FBal)PHENOTYPE_MANIFEST_IN
Insertions (FBti)EXPRESSION_STAGE_TISSUE_POSITION
Constructs (FBtp)PHENOTYPE_MANIFEST_IN
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 visceral muscle cell (all annotations which use CV term, excluding "NOT" statements)
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muscle system__
somatic cell___|
               muscle cell
                |__visceral muscle cell  1019 rec.
                    |__adult visceral muscle cell 269 rec.
                    |   |__adult cardial muscle cell
                    |   |__adult cardial valve muscle cell
                    |   |__adult circular muscle cell(+) 35 rec.
                    |   |__adult esophageal muscle cell(+) 1 rec.
                    |   |__adult heart muscle cell(+) 150 rec.
                    |   |__adult hindgut muscle cell(+) 1 rec.
                    |   |__adult longitudinal muscle cell(+) 54 rec.
                    |   |__adult midgut muscle cell(+) 30 rec.
                    |   |__adult salivary gland suspensor muscle cell
                    |   |__gonadal sheath muscle cell(+) 58 rec.
                    |   |__peritoneal sheath muscle cell 17 rec.
                    |__contractile cardiomyocyte 3 rec.
                    |   |__adult contractile cardiomyocyte 3 rec.
                    |   |__larval contractile cardiomyocyte
                    |__embryonic visceral muscle cell 65 rec.
                    |   |__embryonic esophageal muscle cell 1 rec.
                    |__foregut muscle cell 7 rec.
                    |   |__adult crop circular muscle cell 5 rec.
                    |   |__adult esophageal muscle cell(+) 1 rec.
                    |   |__adult salivary gland suspensor muscle cell
                    |   |__embryonic esophageal muscle cell 1 rec.
                    |   |__embryonic/larval esophageal muscle cell
                    |__hindgut muscle cell 11 rec.
                    |   |__adult hindgut muscle cell(+) 1 rec.
                    |   |__embryonic/larval hindgut muscle cell(+) 10 rec.
                    |__larval visceral muscle cell 572 rec.
                    |   |__embryonic/larval esophageal muscle cell
                    |   |__embryonic/larval gonadal sheath muscle cell
                    |   |__embryonic/larval heart visceral muscle cell(+) 52 rec.
                    |   |__embryonic/larval hindgut muscle cell(+) 10 rec.
                    |   |__embryonic/larval midgut longitudinal visceral muscle cell 36 rec.
                    |   |__embryonic/larval midgut muscle cell 19 rec.
                    |   |__embryonic/larval proventricular muscle cell
                    |   |__embryonic/larval thoracic alary-related muscle cell(+) 9 rec.
                    |__midgut muscle cell 47 rec.
                    |   |__adult midgut muscle cell(+) 30 rec.
                    |   |__embryonic/larval midgut muscle cell 19 rec.
                    |__visceral muscle fiber 196 rec.
                        |__circular intestinal visceral muscle fiber 48 rec.
                        |__foregut visceral muscle fiber
                        |__hindgut visceral muscle fiber 2 rec.
                        |__longitudinal intestinal visceral muscle fiber 64 rec.
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Is a muscle cell
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Synonyms
  • "smooth muscle" BROAD
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CL:0008007