Table 1.
Architectural properties of rat abdominal wall muscles.
| Muscle (region) | PCSA (cm2) | Sarcomere length (μm) | Normalized fascicle length (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| RA1 | 0.28 ± 0.04 | 2.84 ± 0.03 | 2.4 ± 0.2 |
| RA2 | 0.33 ± 0.02 | 2.78 ± 0.04 | 1.5 ± 0.1 |
| RA3 | 0.28 ± 0.02 | 2.88 ± 0.03 | 4.7 ± 0.2 |
| RA (whole) | 0.35 ± 0.03 | 2.83 ± 0.03 | 8.6 ± 0.5 |
| EO1 | 0.40 ± 0.02 | 2.70 ± 0.03 | 3.2 ± 0.1 |
| EO2 | 0.25 ± 0.01 | 2.77 ± 0.04 | 7.8 ± 0.2 |
| EO3 | 0.14 ± 0.00 | 2.57 ± 0.04 | 3.9 ± 0.2 |
| EO (whole) | 0.80 ± 0.03 | 2.70 ± 0.02 | 4.8 ± 0.1 |
| IO1 | 0.19 ± 0.01 | 2.43 ± 0.04 | 2.7 ± 0.1 |
| IO2 | 0.29 ± 0.01 | 2.53 ± 0.02 | 4.6 ± 0.2 |
| IO3 | 0.32 ± 0.04 | 2.39 ± 0.04 | 1.9 ± 0.1 |
| IO (whole) | 0.80 ± 0.04 | 2.45 ± 0.02 | 3.0 ± 0.1 |
| TrA1 | 0.22 ± 0.01 | 2.32 ± 0.05 | 2.3 ± 0.1 |
| TrA2 | 0.27 ± 0.01 | 2.38 ± 0.06 | 5.6 ± 0.1 |
| TrA3 | 0.09 ± 0.01 | 2.54 ± 0.05 | 3.1 ± 0.2 |
| TrA (whole) | 0.59 ± 0.03 | 2.39 ± 0.05 | 3.9 ± 0.1 |
See text for details regarding the calculation of whole muscle parameters [note, for example, that the whole rectus abdominis (RA) mean physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA) is higher than any of the individual region means because the whole RA PCSA for each rat was calculated as the highest PCSA within any of its regions]. Data represented as mean ± SEM (n = 10).
EO, external oblique; IO, internal oblique; TrA, transversus abdominis.