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Updated: Aug 21, 2026

Dissection of Single Skeletal Muscle Fibers for Immunofluorescent and Morphometric Analyses of Whole-Mount Neuromuscular Junctions
Published on: August 14, 2021
Properties of the two neuromuscular compartments in a split bipennate muscle
Barry P Pereira1, V Prem Kumar, Aymeric Y T Lim
1Musculoskeletal Research Laboratories, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, 119260 Singapore, Singapore. dosbarry@nus.edu.sg
Abstract:
Bipennate muscles may be split along their distal aponeurosis, dividing each into two compartments. These sub-muscle units may be used in tendon transfers. This paper presents the contractile properties of the two sub-units of the flexor carpi ulnaris in a macaca fascicularis, after it was split by up to 80% of its length. The sub-muscle units were electrically stimulated and found to have independent isometric contraction, with minimal contraction recorded from the non-stimulated sub-unit. Also, the sum of the forces measured from each unit when stimulated individually, was found to be greater than the force of the whole muscle, given the same isometric conditions. The distal aponeurosis which is common allows force transmission between the compartments. Splitting the muscle along this distal aponeurosis alters this function and the force capacity of the muscle, providing a new potential for using the sub-units as grafts for tendon transfers.
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