[Restoration of fatigued muscle by lengthening of tetanic tension].
(1957) Archives Internationales de Physiologie et de Biochimie — Vol. 65, n° 1, p. 149-151 (1957)
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- Authors
Maréchal, Georges 
- Abstract
- Frog sartorius muscles were isometrically tetanized for 1 or 3 sec by alternating condenser discharges (25/s) every 1 or 8 min at 16°C in a humid chamber well oxygenated. Its length lo was such that its isometric force Po was nearly maximum (reference length). In a typical experiment, the maximal isometric tension had decreased to 11.5% Po after 145 tetani (duration 1.6 s). The muscle was then stretched mm per mm, while the series of tetani was prolonged. When stretched to 125% lo its isometric tension had recovered to 75% Po . The muscle was then returned to its initial lo and tetanized for a new series of 75 tetani. However, when stretched in a way similar to the first series, there was no recovery. The resting tension had not changed, and moving the stimulating electrodes along the length did not produce a recovery of muscle tension. The conclusion is that the frequent tetani induced a lengthening of the elastic element in series with the contractile machinery that could be partly reversed by lengthening the muscle.
Citations
Maréchal, G. (1957). [Restoration of fatigued muscle by lengthening of tetanic tension]. Archives Internationales de Physiologie et de Biochimie, 65(1), 149-151. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/214012 (Original work published 1957)