Abstract
4 healthy men had biopsies taken from the soleus and the lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle for determination of capillary supply, fibre type distribution and fibre area.
In serial transverse sections slow twitch (ST) and fast twitch (FT) fibres were identified histochemically by myofibrillar adenosine triphosphatase stains and capillaries visualized by a periodic acid Schiff stain after digestion of glycogen by α-amylase.
In soleus, ST and FT fibre type areas were approximately two times greater than in gastrocnemius. FT fibres (11060 μm2) were 50% greater than ST fibres (7520 μm2) in soleus, whereas no difference between FT and ST fibres was observed in gastrocnemius (4730 μm2 and 4310 μm2, respectively). Both muscles were mixed with respect to fibre types but in all subjects soleus had a higher relative content of ST fibres than gastrocnemius. The area occupied by ST fibres relative to total area was 64% in soleus and 50% in gastrocnemius.
Capillary density was 288 capillaries·mm−2 in soleus and 365 in gastrocnemius. Evaluated on the basis of mean number of capillaries in contact with fibres of each type relative to fibre type area (μm−2·10−3) individual ST fibres had a richer capillary supply than FT fibres in both soleus (0.84 and 0.57, respectively) and gastrocnemius (1.12 and 0.92, respectively).
Differences in organization of the capillary network between soleus and gastrocnemius were observed. Capillaries are running mainly parallel to the muscle fibres in gastrocnemius, but tortuously and/or frequently branching in soleus. Tortuously and/or frequently branching capillaries implies nutritional advantages, which will not be reflected in the quantitative data obtained from counts of capillaries made on transverse sectioned muscle. Therefore the absolute values given for soleus and gastrocnemius, respectively, cannot be directly compared.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersen, P.: Capillary density in skeletal muscle of man. Acta Physiol. Scand.95, 203–205 (1975)
Andersen, P., Henriksson, J.: Capillary supply of the quadriceps femoris muscle of man: Adaptive response to exercise. J. Physiol.270, 677–690 (1977)
Ariano, M. A., Armstrong, R. B., Edgerton, V. R.: Hindlimb muscle fiber populations of five mammals. J. Histochem. Cytochem.21, 51–55 (1973)
Barnard, R. J., Edgerton, V. R., Furukawa, T., Peter, J. B.: Histochemical, biochemical, and contractile properties of red, white, and intermediate fibers. Am. J. Physiol.220, 410–414 (1971)
Bergström, J.: Muscle electrolytes in man. Scand. J. Clin. Lab. Invest. Suppl.68, (1962)
Brooke, M. H., Kaiser, K. K.: Some comments on the histochemical characterization of muscle adenosine triphosphatase. J. Histochem. Cytochem.17, 431–432 (1969)
Buchthal, F., Schmalbruch, H.: Contraction times and fibre types in intact human muscle. Acta Physiol. Scand.79, 435–452 (1970)
Costill, D. L., Daniels, J., Evans, W., Fink, W., Krahenbuhl, G., Saltin, B.: Skeletal muscle enzymes and fibre composition in male and female track athletes. J. Appl. Physiol.40, 149–154 (1976)
Edgerton, V. R., Smith, J. L., Simpson, R.: Muscle fibre type populations of human leg muscles. Histochem. J.7, 259–266 (1975)
Edgerton, V. R., Barnard, R. J., Peter, J. B., Maier, A., Simpson, D. R.: Properties of immobilized hind-limb muscles of the Galago senegalensis. Exp. Neurol.46, 115–131 (1975)
Edström, L., Nyström, B.: Histochemical types and sizes of fibers in normal human muscles. Acta Neurol. Scand.45, 257–269 (1969)
Edström, L., Torlegård, K.: Area estimation of transversely sectioned muscle fibers. Z. Wiss. Mikrosk.69, 166–178 (1968/1969)
Folkow, B., Halicka, H. D.: A comparison between “red” and “white” muscle with respect to blood supply, capillary surface area and oxygen uptake during rest and exercise. Microvasc. Res.1, 1–14 (1968)
Gollnick, P. D., Armstrong, R. B., Saubert, C. W., IV, Piehl, K., Saltin, B.: Enzyme activity and fiber composition in skeletal muscle of untrained and trained men. J. Appl. Physiol.33, 312–319 (1972)
Golnick, P. D., Sjödin, B., Karlsson, J., Jansson, E., Saltin, B.: Human soleus muscle: A comparison of fiber composition and enzyme activities with other leg muscles. Pflügers Arch.348, 247–255 (1974)
Gomori, G.: The distribution of phosphatase in normal organs and tissues. J. Cell. Comp. Physiol.17, 71–83 (1941)
Guth, L., Samaha, F. J.: Qualitative differences between actomyosin ATPase of slow and fast mammalian muscle. Exp. Neurol.25, 138–152 (1969)
Hudlická, O., Pette, D., Staudte, H.: The relation between blood flow and enzymatic activities in slow and fast muscles during development. Pflügers Arch.343, 341–356 (1973)
Johnson, M. A., Polgar, J., Weightman, D., Appleton, D.: Data on the distribution of fibre types in thirty-six human muscles. J. Neurol. Sci.18, 111–129 (1973)
Lee, J. C.: Vascular patterns in the red and white muscles of the rabbit. Anat. Rec.132, 597–611 (1958)
Novikoff, A. B., Shin, W., Drucker, J.: Mitochondrial localization of oxidation enzymes: Staining results with two tetrazolium salts. J. Biophys. Biochem. Cytol.9, 47–61 (1961)
Padykula, H. A., Herman, E.: The specificity of the histochemical method for adenosine triphosphatase. J. Histochem. Cytochem.3, 170–195 (1955)
Peter, J. B., Barnard, R. J., Edgerton, V. R., Gillespie, C. A., Stempel, K. E.: Metabolic profiles of three fiber types of skeletal muscle in guinea pigs and rabbits. Biochemistry11, 2627–2633 (1972)
Plyley, M. J., Groom, A. C.: Geometrical distribution of capillaries in mammalian striated muscle. Am. J. Physiol.228, 1376–1383 (1975)
Polgar, J., Johnson, M. A., Weightman D., Appleton, D.: Data on fibre size in thirty-six human muscles. An autopsy study. J. Neurol. Sci.19, 307–318 (1973)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Andersen, P., Kroese, A.J. Capillary supply in soleus and gastrocnemius muscles of man. Pflugers Arch. 375, 245–249 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00582437
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00582437