Biomaterial Database

Morphological organization and contractile properties of the wrist flexor muscles in the cat. 1981

W J Gonyea, and S A Marushia, and J A Dixon

A comparison of the anatomy, fiber type profiles, and contractile properties of the wrist flexor muscles was undertaken in the cat. Isometric contractile characteristics were measured for each muscle. Three muscle fiber types, FG, FOG, and SO, were differentiated by staining cross sections of each muscle for ATPase, NADH diaphorase, SDH, and alpha-GPD activities. The wrist flexor muscles ranged from less than 1% to 49% SO fiber content; with two of the five heads of the flexor digitorium profundus (FDP) having 1% or less SO fibers (FDP1-1.07%, FDP5-0.81%) and the humeral head of the flexor carpi ulnaris muscle (FCUh) having the greatest content of SO fibers. The mean contraction time (CT) plus one-half relaxation time for an isometric twitch was correlated with the percentage of SO fibers and ranged from 40.5 to 111.8 ms. Except for the FCU (37ms), the CT was less than 25 ms for the wrist flexor muscles. The uniarticular wrist flexor muscles, the flexor carpi radialis (FCR), and the FCU had the highest percentage of SO fibers and were more fatigue-resistant that the multiarticular muscles. Considerable differences exist in muscle structure, fiber type proportions, and contractile properties between the FCR and FCU, which may be related to functional differences between the two sides of the wrist that may exist during the placement of the foot during locomotion.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D009119	Muscle Contraction	A process leading to shortening and/or development of tension in muscle tissue. Muscle contraction occurs by a sliding filament mechanism whereby actin filaments slide inward among the myosin filaments.	Inotropism,Muscular Contraction,Contraction, Muscle,Contraction, Muscular,Contractions, Muscle,Contractions, Muscular,Inotropisms,Muscle Contractions,Muscular Contractions
D009132	Muscles	Contractile tissue that produces movement in animals.	Muscle Tissue,Muscle,Muscle Tissues,Tissue, Muscle,Tissues, Muscle
D002415	Cats	The domestic cat, Felis catus, of the carnivore family FELIDAE, comprising over 30 different breeds. The domestic cat is descended primarily from the wild cat of Africa and extreme southwestern Asia. Though probably present in towns in Palestine as long ago as 7000 years, actual domestication occurred in Egypt about 4000 years ago. (From Walker's Mammals of the World, 6th ed, p801)	Felis catus,Felis domesticus,Domestic Cats,Felis domestica,Felis sylvestris catus,Cat,Cat, Domestic,Cats, Domestic,Domestic Cat
D005260	Female		Females
D005552	Forelimb	A front limb of a quadruped. (The Random House College Dictionary, 1980)	Forelimbs
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia