Diad

The diad is a structure in the cardiac myocyte located at the sarcomere Z-line. It is composed of a single t-tubule paired with a terminal cisterna of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The diad plays an important role in excitation-contraction coupling by juxtaposing an inlet for the action potential near a source of Ca²⁺ ions. This way, the wave of depolarization can be coupled to calcium-mediated cardiac muscle contraction via the sliding filament mechanism.