The three types of muscle: Three types of muscle tissue can be identified histologically: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle and smooth muscle. The fibres of skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle exhibit cross striations at the light microscope level and they are both referred to as striated muscle.keletal muscle Skeletal muscle constitutes the muscle that is attached to the skeleton and controls motor movements and posture. There are a few instances where this type of muscle is restricted to soft tissues: the tongue, pharynx, diaphragm and upper part of the esophagus.