The I band is the region of a striated muscle sarcomere that contains thin filaments. This region is closest to the Z disk, and is the lightest region of the sarcomere when viewed in under the light or electron microscope. The I band is occupied by the thin filaments only. Each Z disk runs through the middle of the I band. Therefore, half of each I band belongs to one sarcomere, and the other half belongs to the neighboring sarcomere. The I band shortens as the muscle contracts and the sarcomere shortens.

A band
H zone
M line
Z disk