A study of the phenomena and causation of heat-contraction of skeletal muscle / by T.G. Brodie and S.W.F. Richardson ; communicated by W.D. Halliburton.

  • Brodie, Thomas Gregor, 1866-1916.
Date:
1899
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A study of the phenomena and causation of heat-contraction of skeletal muscle / by T.G. Brodie and S.W.F. Richardson ; communicated by W.D. Halliburton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

    14/24 (page 136)
    If we examine the tracing (fig. 2) which we have given as a typical result of our experiments, bearing in mind the different j^roteids present in frog’s muscle and the temperatures at which they coagulate, we immediately note an exact correspondence between the two results. At each of the three temperatures where the proteids soluble myogen-fibrin, myosin, and myogen coagulate, we find a corresponding con- traction of the sartorius. And, moreover, this contraction corresponds in all its minutiae with the range of temperature for each proteid-coagulation. At a tempe- rature at which the coagulation commences, and v. Furth obtained a clouding of his solutions, we find a contraction occurring, small in amount and slow in progress. Fig. 3. ‘63° ! Exi3. 38.—Mouse tendon. Each break on the curve records a rise of 5° 0. Total duration of experiment 29 min. 5 secs. Magnification, 10-fold. Length of tendon, 19 millims. Contraction commenced at 60” C., hut chiefly occurred when 63° C. was reached. Total shortening, 9‘4 millims. and as the temperature rises to that at which proteid-coagulation is rapid, so too our tracings show a rapid contraction, which gradually falls off as all the proteid becomes coagulated. This is true for each of the three contractions observed. With regard to the fourth contraction, which is frequently more apparent than in fig. 2, we find that it exactly corresponds with the behaviour of white-fibrous or yellow- elastic tissue similarly heated. We consequently draw the following conclusions :— (1.) The different contractions given by a muscle as its temperature is gradually