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Analysis and Assessment of Cardiovascular Function pp 33–57Cite as

Muscle Contraction Mechanics from Ultrastructural Dynamics

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Abstract

The quantitative description of muscle contraction has evolved into two separate foci: Lumped descriptions based on Hill’s contractile element [e.g., (31)] and crossbridge models based on Huxley’s description of a single sarcomere [e.g., (9)]. The earliest quantitative descriptions of muscle are lumped whole muscle models, with the simplest mechanical description being a purely elastic spring. Potential energy is stored when the spring is stretched and shortening occurs when it is released. The idea of muscle elastance can be traced back to Weber (1846) (48), who considered muscle as an elastic material that changes state during activation via conversion of chemical energy. Subsequently, investigators retained the elastic description but ignored metabolic alteration of muscle stiffness. Fick (1891) (12) and later Blix (1893) (2) refuted the purely elastic model on thermody-namic grounds. They found that potential energy stored during stretching was less than the sum of the energy released during shortening as work and heat.

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Authors
  1. Joseph L. Palladino
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  2. Abraham Noordergraaf
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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Palladino, J.L., Noordergraaf, A. (1998). Muscle Contraction Mechanics from Ultrastructural Dynamics. In: Analysis and Assessment of Cardiovascular Function. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1744-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1744-2_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7261-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-1744-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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