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. 1973 Jan;13(1):14–36. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(73)85967-3

The Anisotropic Elastic Properties of the Sarcolemma of the Frog Semitendinosus Muscle Fiber

Stanley I Rapoport
PMCID: PMC1484174  PMID: 4541138

Abstract

Tension and curvature of the sarcolemmal tube of the frog muscle fiber were measured at different extensions and were used to calculate the anisotropic elastic properties of the sarcolemma. A model was derived to obtain the four parameters of the elasticity matrix of the sarcolemma. Sarcolemmal thickness was taken as 0.1 μm. Over the range of reversible sarcolemmal tube extension, the longitudinal elastic modulus EL = 6.3 × 107 dyn/cm2, the circumferential modulus Ec = 0.88 × 107 dyn/cm2, the longitudinal Poisson's ratio σL = 1.2, and the circumferential Poisson's ratio σc = 0.18. At tubular rest length EL = 1.2 × 107 dyn/cm2. The sarcolemma is less extensible in the longitudinal direction along the fiber axis than in the circumferential direction. It can be extended reversibly to 48% of its rest length, equivalent to extending the intact fiber from a sarcomere length of 3 μm to about 4.5 μm. The sarcolemma does not contribute to intact fiber tension at fiber sarcomere lengths <3 μm, and between 3 and 4 μm its contribution is about 20%. It also exerts a pressure on the myoplasm, which can be calculated by means of the model. The longitudinal elastic modulus of the whole fiber is 1 × 105 dyn/cm2 at a sarcomere length of 2.33 μm.

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22FIGURE 6
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23FIGURE 7
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Selected References

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

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