Properties of skeletalmuscle

ELECTRICAL& MECHANICALPROPERTIES

• Excitability
• Conductivity Electrical properties

• Contractility
Mechanical properties
• Extensibility
• Elasticity
 Excitability
• Ability to receive and respond to astimulus
• Stimulus – Electrical, Chemical
• Respond by producing electrical signals such as action
potentials
• Muscle cells can be excited by a stimulus.
• RMP -90mV
• Local potential – end plate potential
• Application of a threshold stimulus produces anaction
potential.
• Action potential of skeletal muscle has allthe
characteristics of action potential ofa nerve.
 Excitability
Skeletal muscle action potential
• RMP -90 mV
• Firing level -50 mV
• Amplitude 120 mV
• Duration of Action Potential 2-4ms
• Duration of Absolute Refractory Period 1-3ms
• Velocity of conduction 3-5m/s
• Chronaxie 0.25 – 1 ms
+30

-50
 Excitability
• Ionic basis – same as that for nerve
• Action potential is a spike type of action
potential
• Depolarisation is by Na+ influx
• Repolarisation is by K+efflux
 Excitability
• Action potential can be elicited/ produced
only by a threshold stimulus
• Action potential is a self propagating process

• A subthreshold stimulus produces a local

response called endplate potential/EPP
• EPPdoes not propagate
 Excitability
• Action potential of skeletal muscle has allthe
characteristics of action potential of a nerve.

• Obeys all or none law – single musclefiber

• In cardiac muscle – the whole muscle obeys all ornone
law as it functions as asyncytium

• Has a refractory period

• Absolute refractory period 1-3ms

• Latent period
 Excitability
• Muscle can be stimulated directly by keeping
the electrode in the muscle & indirectly by
stimulating the nerve supply
The mechanical activity begins only when
the electrical activity is about to end.
 Excitability
• Action potential is very brief
• The absolute refractory period endsbefore
the mechanical response begins.
• So, it is possible to tetanize the skeletal
muscle if a number ofstimuli are applied one
after the other in the contraction period of
previous contractions.
• Here , fusion of contractions(muscletwitches)
occur resulting in tetanus
 Conductivity
• Propagation of action potential, the sameway
as in an unmyelinated nerve fiber
• Propagates along the sarcolemma
• Action potential spreads in both the directions
from the point ofstimulation
• Velocity of conduction is 3-5m/s
 Contractility
• Ability toshorten when stimulated i.e., ability to
contract when stimulated by an actionpotential
• When a threshold stimulus is applied, the muscle
responds to the stimulus by acontraction

• A single action potential causes a brief period of

contraction followed by relaxation. Thisresponse
is called as a muscle twitch/ simple muscle
twitch.
 Contractility
• In a muscle fiber, the depolarisation starts at the
motor end plate & action potential is conducted
along the muscle & this initiates contraction.
• Mechanical response occurs slightly after the
electrical response.
• The twitch starts 2 ms after the start of
depolarisation, before repolarisation is
completed.
• Duration of twitch varies with the type of muscle
stimulated
 Contractility
• Fast muscles have short twitch duration – 7.5ms
• Slow muscles have long twitch duration – 100ms
 Contractility – Types of contraction

Types Isometric contraction Isotonic contraction

Length of the muscle No change Shortening

Tone of the muscle &

Increased No change
tension developed
 Contractility – Types of contraction
Types Isometric contraction Isotonic contraction
External work done No. Yes.
Since there is no As the muscle length is
movement of the object. shortened
Work done = force x
distance A part of the energyis
Energy is converted to converted to useful
heat work & the remaining
is converted to heat
Examples •Arm muscles when trying •Contraction of leg
to push awall muscles during
•Muscles which help in walking, running
maintaining posture •Contraction of
against gravity muscles while lifting a
weight
•Contraction of
muscles during flexion
of arm
 Contractility – Types of contraction
Types Isometric Isotonic contraction
contraction
Changes in the 3 Length remains the Length decreases as
component model same as the the contractile
shortening component &
produced by the parallel elastic
contractile component
component of the shortens but the
muscle is series elastic
compensated by component does
the stretching of not stretch
the series elastic
component
 Contractility
FACTORSAFFECTINGFORCEOFCONTRACTION
1. Strength of stimulus – A weak stimulus can
excite only the most excitable (low threshold)
fiber. With increasing intensity ofstimulus, more
number of motor units come into play, hence
the force of contractionincreases.
2. Frequency of stimulus – directly proportional
3. Initial length of muscle fiber – force of
contraction is directly proportional tothe initial
length of the muscle fiber within physiological
limits. This is Starling’s law
 Contractility
4. Load and force of contraction -Load applied
before contraction(preload) – force of
contraction increases. Load applied to a
contracting muscle (afterload) - force of
contraction decreases
5. Temperature – directly proportional - by
accelerating the metabolism. Above 45
degree C, muscle proteins coagulate
6. Type of muscle – increased in fast muscle
 Give reason
Increase in initial length
increases the force of contraction

• Starling’s law
• Increased exposure of active binding sitesi.e.,
myosin binding sites on actin molecule
• Optimum overlapping between the actin&
myosin filaments
• So, maximum cross bridges are formed
between them
 Can a skeletal muscle be tetanised?
If so, how?
• Tetanus – a state of sustained contraction
• The mechanical response begins only after the
end of the absolute refractory period of the
action potential .
• So, if repeated stimuli are applied one after
the other in the contraction period of the
previous contractions – fusion of contractions
- tetanus
 Skeletal muscle tone
• Even during the resting state ofthe muscle, there
is a slow & steady discharge of impulses from
the alpha motor neuron. Because of the
discharge, the muscle is in a state of partial
sustained contraction even at rest. This is the
resting tone of the muscle & is called as muscle
tone
• Decrease – hypotonia – alpha motor neuron
lesion, injury to dorsal nerveroot
• Increased – hypertonia – UMN lesion,
extrapyramidal lesion.
 Fatiguability
• Temporary inability of the muscle to respond
satisfactorily after being repeatedly stimulated
• Temporary state of inexcitability of themuscle
• Can be reversed by rest, oxygen...
 Elasticity
• Ability to recoil and resume restinglength
• Ability to return to normal lengthafter stretch
• Explained by the presence of the parallelelastic
component
• Passive tension by elastic component
• Total tension by contractile & elasticcomponent
• Active tension
= total tension – passive tension
Elasticity
 Extensibility
• Ability to stretch or to increase in length
• Series elastic component
 EMG/ Electromyogram
• Recording of electrical activities of muscle
• Surface electrode placed over the skin
• Hypodermic needle electrodes
Properties of skeletalmuscle
• Atrophy
• Hypertrophy
• Hyperplasia
• Wasting
• Paralysis/ Plegia
• Dicoumarol
Thank you
Length tension relationship
 Thermal changes during
muscle contraction
• Muscle contractions are associated with heat
changes
• Thermodynamically, energy supply to the
muscle must be equal to the energyoutput
which appear as
1. Mechanical work done during isotonic
contraction
2. Resynthesis of ATPused
3. Heat released – a wasteful form of energy
• Work is done during isotonic contraction
• Work done = force x distance
• Mechanical efficiency of skeletalmuscle
=work done
----------------- x 100
Total energy expenditure
• Isotonic contraction 50%
• Isometric contraction – 0
• Heat produced during muscle contraction canbe
measured using suitable thermocouples & the
changes seen are known as thermal changes
Types of heat produced
• Resting heat – heat evolved during rest – dueto
metabolism
• Initial heat – heat evolved in excess of resting
heat, during contraction – 2 types – activation
heat & shorteningheat
 Excitability
• Muscle can be stimulated directly by keepingthe
electrode in the muscle & indirectly by
stimulating the nerve supply

• Chronaxie is of longer duration 0.5-1ms

• Action potential of skeletal muscle has a long

afterdepolarisation & during that time, the
muscle fiber is highly excitable(hyperexcitable).
This is called supernormal period.