histology - Is epimysium same as fascia?

I have read that epimysium is dense regular connective tissue made covering the a muscle like bicep brachi. at the same time we have fascia that is made of dense regular tissue and covers muscles. so are they same or different how can we describe it and differentiate it?

Answer

Epimysium is the specialized fascia located at the muscle.

Epimysium is a layer of connective tissue, which ensheaths the entire muscle. It is composed of dense irregular connective tissue. It is continuous with fascia and other connective tissue wrappings of muscle including the endomysium, and perimysium ^[1].

The fascia that covers muscle is named deep fascia:

The deep fasciae envelop all bone (periosteum and endosteum); cartilage (perichondrium), and blood vessels (tunica externa) and become specialized in muscles (epimysium, perimysium, and endomysium) and nerves (epineurium, perineurium, and endoneurium) ^[2].

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References:

1. Wikipedia contributors, "Epimysium," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Epimysium&oldid=540536396 (accessed June 27, 2014).



2. Wikipedia contributors, "Deep fascia," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deep_fascia&oldid=593605746 (accessed June 27, 2014).