ISSN:
1750-3841
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
,
Process Engineering, Biotechnology, Nutrition Technology
Notes:
An apparatus was developed to study the extensibility and elasticity characteristics of muscle fibers before and during the onset of rigor mortis. A variable load (weight) was applied to a muscle specimen held in a chamber under controlled conditions maintained by a thermostatically regulated cartridge heater, cooling coil, and gas inlet. A solenoid cell, energized by a cyclic timer, was used to release and apply the load in a direction longitudinal to the vertically mounted specimen. A lever attached to the specimen-loading, system transmitted the extensibility and elasticity of the specimen to the armature of a differential transformer. The output voltage, from the secondary transformer winding was directly proportional to displacement of the armature. This AC output signal was rectified and transferred to a DC recording microammeter. The time course of rigor mortis was not influenced by loading and unloading interval or size of muscle strip, and was found to be temperature-dependent, being prolonged as temperature was decreased. The white fibers of the semitendinosus muscle were found to have a considerably longer delay phase than the red fibers. The relations between the time course of rigor mortis and the ultimate properties of the muscle were discussed.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1962.tb00140.x
Permalink
