Incomplete recovery of muscle cell function following partial but not complete ischemia

A simultaneous comparison of the effect of partial and total ischemia on skeletal muscle was made in dogs. The totally ischemic muscle had larger changes in adenosine triphosphate (ATP), creatine phosphate (CP), and cellular transmembrane potential difference (PD) during the 3-hour ischemic period than the partially ischemic muscle. Following recovery, all measured parameters in the totally ischemic muscle returned to normal, but paradoxically the PD in the partially ischemic muscle remained depressed despite the return to normal levels of ATP and CP. Contrary to the results in partially and totally ischemic brain tissue there was no evidence for higher levels of lactic acid in the partially ischemic muscle that could explain the persistent alteration in muscle cell function.