SarahChamberlain

SkeletalMuscleLabReport

Skeletal muscles are organs made up of a variety of tissues that create

movement by contracting with theaidof the ATPthat thebody produces. In1543,the
Flemish Physician contributed to the research and study of the skeletal muscle with
over 200anatomical illustrations ofskeletalmuscles. Musclecontractionis based ona
sliding filament theory that was developed by four people: Andrew F. Huxley, Rolf
Niedergerke,HughHuxley, andJeanHansonin1954.Tension,force,length,andwidth
are measurable variables of muscle contraction. Angelo Mosso researched muscle
fatigue and muscle fibers in the late 1800sand he discovered that musclefatiguehas
an impact on the muscle mobility. The following labs will be addressing the skeletal
musclestructure,contraction,andfatigueresearch.

PartISkeletalMuscleStructure:

Figure 1:SkeletalMuscle composed oflayers oftissues. Fasciacoversthesurfaceof

the muscle, epimysium is beneath the fascia, and the perimysium separates the
fascicles. Endomysium separates the individual fibers. Thereare three typesof fibers:
ActinFilament(thin),MyosinFilament(thick),andMyofibrils(protein).

PartIIMuscleContraction


Figure2BeforeATPRabbitMuscle

Figure3AfterATPRabbitMuscle

MuscleFiber
BeforeATP
LengthsinMM Length

AfterATP
Length

BeforeATP
Width

AfterATP
Width

51mm

45mm

4mm

7mm

52mm

48mm

5mm

6mm

54mm

51mm

3mm

5mm

59mm

52mm

5mm

7mm

Averages

54mm

49mm

4.25mm

6.25mm

%Contraction

9.2%

47.1%

Table 1 ATP effects onmusclefibers.AddingATPtomuscle fiberscausesthemuscle

to contract in terms of length and to grow in terms of width. The muscle also grows
darkerincolor.Thisiswhat happensduringphysicalactivitieswhenyourmusclesarein
use. ATP that your body produces gets released, and the effects from above start to
happen.


Graph 1 A bar graph showing the percentage ofmuscle contraction. After adding the
ATP to the rabbit muscle, the muscle shrank in length slightly. A small contraction
occurred.However,themusclegrewalmosttwiceitssizeinwidth.

GripStrengthandMuscleFatigue:

Table1ContinuousGrip
Timeinterval

Maximumforce(N)

Maximumforce(N)

010s

76.1

2030s

69.1

4050s

64.7

4.4

6070s

57.1

7.6

8090s

41.5

15.6

Table 2Resultsfroma GripStrengthandMuscleFatiguelab.Thelabconsistoftaking

aHand Dynamometerin your dominant hand, andcontinuouslygrippingontoitfor100
seconds. Your muscles gradely fatigue, thus causing your grip to slowly become
weaker. Fatigue begins because of a number of reasons including decreased blood
flow, ion imbalances, and psychological loss of the desire to continue. The last ten
secondsof the lab, your partnermotivatesyou, causingyoutospikeattheveryend,as
shown inthegraphbelow.Themotivationreminds youofthetaskathand,thuscausing
youtopushyourselffarther,despiteyourfatigue.


Graph 2 Data results from a Grip Strength and Muscle Fatigue lab. The last 10
secondsareshownonthisgraphwheretheyarenotshownonthetable.
Table2RepetitiveGrip
Timeinterval

Maximumforce(N)

Maximumforce(N)

010s

78.7

2030s

70.4

8.3

4050s

88.1

17.7

6070s

77.1

11

8090s

66.2

10.9

Table3ResultsfromaGripStrengthandMuscleFatiguelab.Thelabconsistoftaking
aHandDynamometerinyourdominanthand,andrepetitivelygrippingittwotimesper
secondfor100seconds.Yourmusclesgradelyfatigue,thuscausingyourgriptoslowly
becomeweakerandslower.Fatiguebeginsbecauseofanumberofreasonsincluding
decreasedbloodflow,ionimbalances,andpsychologicallossofthedesiretocontinue.
Thelasttensecondsofthelab,yourpartnermotivatesyou,causingyoutospikeatthe
veryend,asshowninthegraphbelow.Themotivationremindsyouofthetaskathand,
thuscausingyoutopushyourselffarther,despiteyourfatigue.


Graph 3 Data results from a Grip Strength and Muscle Fatigue lab. The last 10
secondsareshownonthisgraphwheretheyarenotshownonthetable.