THIXOTROPY: THE EFFECT OF STRETCH SIZE IN RELAXED FROG MUSCLE

¹ Department of Biology and Preclinical Medicine, Bute Medical Buildings, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TS

Small forces were applied to isolated frog muscle; the resulting displacements were used to calculate muscle stiffness (elastic modulus, E). Stiffness is much greater for small forces within the range of the Short Range Elastic Component (SREC; Hill, 1968). ‘Stirring’ the muscle greatly reduces the stiffness, but only when the applied force is small. Stiffness subsequently returns to its original level. This strongly suggests that muscle thixotropy (Lakie, Walsh & Wright, 1984) is a property of the SREC.

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