Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Physiology logoLink to The Journal of Physiology
. 1968 Aug;197(3):709–715. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1968.sp008583

Fine structure of tortoise skeletal muscle

Sally G Page
PMCID: PMC1351757  PMID: 5666182

Abstract

1. The fine structure of tortoise skeletal muscle has been studied with the electron microscope.

2. The packing of the A filaments (1·6 μ long) and the I filaments (2·35 μ long) within the myofibril is similar to that in frog twitch fibres.

3. The position of the N line within the I band is found to vary with the sarcomere length.

4. The T-system tubules in these muscles form a three-dimensional network across the fibre at the level of the I band. On either side of the Z line it forms triad relationships with the other network of tubules of the sarco-plasmic reticulum.

Full text

PDF

Images in this article

714-4Plate 4
on p.714-4
714-1Plate 1
on p.714-1
714-2Plate 2
on p.714-2
714-3Plate 3
on p.714-3

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BENNETT H. S., PORTER K. R. An electron microscope study of sectioned breast muscle of the domestic fowl. Am J Anat. 1953 Jul;93(1):61–105. doi: 10.1002/aja.1000930104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BENNETT H. S. The sarcoplasmic reticulum of striped muscle. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1956 Jul 25;2(4 Suppl):171–174. doi: 10.1083/jcb.2.4.171. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bárány M. ATPase activity of myosin correlated with speed of muscle shortening. J Gen Physiol. 1967 Jul;50(6 Suppl):197–218. doi: 10.1085/jgp.50.6.197. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. HILL A. V. The development of the active state of muscle during the latent period. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1950 Oct 13;137(888):320–329. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1950.0043. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. HUXLEY H. E. EVIDENCE FOR CONTINUITY BETWEEN THE CENTRAL ELEMENTS OF THE TRIADS AND EXTRACELLULAR SPACE IN FROG SARTORIUS MUSCLE. Nature. 1964 Jun 13;202:1067–1071. doi: 10.1038/2021067b0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Huxley H. E., Brown W. The low-angle x-ray diagram of vertebrate striated muscle and its behaviour during contraction and rigor. J Mol Biol. 1967 Dec 14;30(2):383–434. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(67)80046-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. KARNOVSKY M. J. Simple methods for "staining with lead" at high pH in electron microscopy. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1961 Dec;11:729–732. doi: 10.1083/jcb.11.3.729. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Katz B. The relation between force and speed in muscular contraction. J Physiol. 1939 Jun 14;96(1):45–64. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1939.sp003756. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. PAGE S. G., HUXLEY H. E. FILAMENT LENGTHS IN STRIATED MUSCLE. J Cell Biol. 1963 Nov;19:369–390. doi: 10.1083/jcb.19.2.369. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. PALADE G. E. A study of fixation for electron microscopy. J Exp Med. 1952 Mar;95(3):285–298. doi: 10.1084/jem.95.3.285. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. SABATINI D. D., BENSCH K., BARRNETT R. J. Cytochemistry and electron microscopy. The preservation of cellular ultrastructure and enzymatic activity by aldehyde fixation. J Cell Biol. 1963 Apr;17:19–58. doi: 10.1083/jcb.17.1.19. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Woledge R. C. The energetics of tortoise muscle. J Physiol. 1968 Aug;197(3):685–707. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1968.sp008582. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Physiology are provided here courtesy of The Physiological Society

RESOURCES