Incompressible fluid plays a mechanical role in the development of passive muscle tension.

ABSTRACT: Over short time scales, muscle fibres maintain a nearly constant volume of intracellular fluid. This fluid is essential to normal biochemical function, but its role in determining the mechanical properties of muscle has been considered in only a few theoretical analyses. Here we investigate the mechanical role of fluid in a fundamental property of muscle, its development of passive tension in response to stretch. We test a model of muscle structure in which incompressible fluid directly influences passive tension by constraining the geometry of intramuscular connective tissues. This interaction is demonstrated using a simple physical model of muscle morphology comprising a fluid-filled bladder wrapped by helical fibres. The behaviour of the model is compared with that of isolated bullfrog

SUBMITTER: Sleboda DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5310577 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature