Effect of initial length on relations between oxygen uptake and load in dog muscle

Oxygen uptake for brief tetanic contractions was calculated from measurements of blood flow and blood arteriovenous oxygen content differences. Each muscle preparation was pretested under isometric conditions to establish optimal length, Lo. After this one group of preparations performed afterload isotonic contractions at several loads with initial length, Li, less than Lo. The other groups of preparations performed similar contractions with Li greater than Lo. When Li was less than Lo, oxygen uptake for the highest load was always greater than oxygen uptake at the lowest load whereas intermediate loads were usually higher than both extremes. However, when Li was greater than Lo, oxygen uptake at the highest load was always less than oxygen uptake at the lowest load; again the intermediate loads were usually higher than both extremes. The data confirm and extend similar effects of initial length on heat production for contractions by amphibian muscles (7). It seems likely that the differences in initial lengths may account for the fact that the Fenn effect has not previously been observed in studies of mammalian skeletal muscle energetics.