Abstract
Muscles have evolved to meet a variety of functions which demand gross differences in performance. Skeletal muscles may be required for short bursts of activity or prolonged contractions. Sustained activity is the, hallmark of cardiac muscle which can function non-stop for a century or more. The flight muscles of a midge can contract one thousand times a second. A square centimetre of a molluscan adductor muscle can lift a 10 kg weight.
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Topics for further reading
Aidley, D.J. (1978), The Physiology of Excitable Cells (2nd edn), Cambridge University Press. (Provides a good introduction to excitation—contraction coupling.).
Alexander, R. McNeill (1975), Biomechanics, Chapman and Hall, London. (Includes a description of muscle function at the macroscopic level.).
Carlson, F.D. and Wilkie, D.R. (1974), Muscle Physiology, Prentice-Hall, New Jersey. (Covers the performance and metabolism of muscles.).
White, D.C.S. (1974), Biological Physics, Chapman and Hall, London. (A refresher course in physics relevant to muscle and techniques.).
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© 1982 C.R. Bagshaw
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Bagshaw, C.R. (1982). Gross anatomy and physiology. In: Muscle Contraction. Outline Studies in Biology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-9539-6_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-9539-6_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-0-412-13450-0
Online ISBN: 978-94-010-9539-6
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