Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Ex Vivo Assessment of Contractility, Fatigability and Alternans in Isolated Skeletal Muscles
14:02

Ex Vivo Assessment of Contractility, Fatigability and Alternans in Isolated Skeletal Muscles

Published on: November 1, 2012

THE CHANGE IN STATE OF THE PROTEINS OF MUSCLE IN RIGOR

A E Mirsky1

  • 1Hospital of The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research.

The Journal of General Physiology
|October 30, 2009
PubMed

More Related Videos

Skeletal Muscle Gender Dimorphism from Proteomics09:29

Skeletal Muscle Gender Dimorphism from Proteomics

Published on: December 14, 2011

Myo-mechanical Analysis of Isolated Skeletal Muscle08:42

Myo-mechanical Analysis of Isolated Skeletal Muscle

Published on: February 22, 2011

Related Concept Videos

Alterations in Muscle Tone lll01:11

Alterations in Muscle Tone lll

Rigidity and myotonia are distinct abnormalities of muscle tone that affect resistance and relaxation during movement. Although both involve altered muscle contraction, they arise from different neurological and muscular mechanisms.CharacteristicsRigidity is characterized by uniform resistance to passive movement across the entire range, independent of speed, affecting flexors and extensors equally. It may appear as lead-pipe rigidity (smooth, constant resistance) or cogwheel rigidity...
Relaxation of Skeletal Muscles01:29

Relaxation of Skeletal Muscles

The period of muscle contraction primarily influences the duration of stimulation at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), the presence of free calcium ions in the sarcoplasm, and the availability of energy or ATP to support contractions.
When an action potential reaches the axon terminal, it depolarizes the membrane and opens voltage-gated sodium channels. Sodium ions enter the cell, further depolarizing the presynaptic membrane. This depolarization causes voltage-gated calcium channels to open.
Cross-bridge Cycle01:26

Cross-bridge Cycle

As muscle contracts, the overlap between the thin and thick filaments increases, decreasing the length of the sarcomere—the contractile unit of the muscle—using energy in the form of ATP. At the molecular level, this is a cyclic, multistep process that involves binding and hydrolysis of ATP, and movement of actin by myosin.
Actin and Myosin in Muscle Contraction01:16

Actin and Myosin in Muscle Contraction

Actin and myosin are contractile proteins that form the sarcomere found in skeletal muscle tissues for regulating muscle contraction. Actin, a globular contractile protein, interacts with myosin for muscle contraction. The skeletal tissue appears striped or striated under a microscope due to the repeated arrangement of contractile proteins actin and myosin along the length of myofibrils. Dark A bands and light I bands repeat along myofibrils, and the alignment of myofibrils in the cell causes...
Motor Unit Stimulation01:20

Motor Unit Stimulation

When the neuron of a motor unit fires an action potential, it triggers a series of events, leading to a twitch contraction in the muscle fibers. The process of excitation-contraction coupling is crucial in relaying the action potential to the muscle fibers.
The latent period of contraction marks the onset of excitation-contraction coupling, when the action potential propagates across the sarcolemma, preparing the muscle fibers for contraction. As the fibers enter the contraction phase, the...
Smooth Muscle Contraction01:25

Smooth Muscle Contraction

Smooth muscle contraction is a complex process vital for various bodily functions, from maintaining blood vessel tension to facilitating the movement of food through the digestive tract. Unlike striated muscles, smooth muscle contraction begins more slowly and lasts longer.
The onset of contraction is triggered by an increase in calcium ions within the sarcoplasm, similar to the process in striated muscle. However, smooth muscles have a relatively smaller reservoir of the sarcoplasmic...