The H zone is in the center of the A band where there is no overlap between the thick and the thin filaments. Therefore, in the H zone, the filaments consist only of the thick filament. The H zone becomes smaller as the muscle contracts and the sarcomere shortens. The center of the H zone is at the M line, which is also at the center of the sarcomere.

A band
I band
M line
Z disk

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