Architectural gear ratio depends on actuator spacing in a physical model of pennate muscle.

ABSTRACT: Pennate muscles are defined by the architectural arrangement of their muscle fibers, which run at an angle to the primary axis of muscle shortening. Pennation angles can vary dynamically over the course of individual contractions, influencing the speed and distance of muscle shortening. Despite their relevance to muscle performance, the physical mechanisms that drive dynamic changes in pennation angle remain poorly understood. Muscle fibers bulge radially as they shorten, a consequence of maintaining a constant internal fluid volume, and we hypothesized that radial interactions between tightly packed muscle fibers are essential to dynamic pennation angle changes. To explore this, we built physical models of pennate muscles in which the radial distance between fiber-like actuators could be

SUBMITTER: Sleboda DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10876153 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature