Muscle fibres under the microscope (with cine film) : a talk by Sir Andrew Huxley.

Sir Andrew Huxley begins by recounting the origins of his work on muscle and stating his main influences, namely Scientist D. K. Hill. He gives a brief overview of Hill’s life and work, and explains how his and Hill's work eventually coincided. Huxley explains the history of the theory surrounding muscle fibre, exhibiting several slides depicting striated muscle fibre from the 1800s and referencing various seminal works on the subject. He talks about his interest in microscopes, and explains how to construct an interference microscope. He then explains why this kind of microscope is ineffective for use in investigating muscle striation and exhibits some images from his trials of alternative equipment. Huxley then introduces his three-part film ‘Muscular Contraction Under the Microscope’ (1964), which exhibits a collection of cine-micrographs that depict the contraction of striated muscle fibres. Section One focusses on the striation pattern during contraction; Section Two focusses on the maximum length for contraction; and Section Three focusses on local activation of frog muscle fibres. Finally, Huxley discusses the recent rediscovery of the transverse tubular system, and closes with a few words about more recent investigations. Trentham and Huxley conclude with a 10 minute Q&A.