Definition
Muscle architecture is the structural design of a skeletal muscle in terms of the arrangement of the muscle fibers, muscle units, and connective tissue elements within and around which they are embedded. These design features define the axis of force and displacement generation of a muscle-tendon complex.
Characteristics
Muscle Fiber Architecture
Single skeletal muscle fibers are elongated, multinucleated cells that have variable lengths and shapes. A fiber is comprised of a number of myofibrils arranged in parallel and comprised of sarcomeres arranged in-series. A sarcomere, in turn, is comprised of myofilaments, i.e. namely myosin and actin, and is the functional unit of muscle contraction. The basal lamina defines the anatomical boundary of a single fiber. A majority of muscle fibers have a single point of innervation identified as the neuromuscular junctionor motor endplate. Myonuclei are distributed along the length of the fiber, with a higher density usually observed...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Ounjian M, Roy RR, Eldred E, Garfinkel A, Payne JR, Armstrong A, Toga AW, Edgerton VR (1991) Physiological and developmental implications of motor unit anatomy. J Neurobiol 22:547–559
Bodine SC, Garfinkel A, Roy RR, Edgerton VR (1988) Spatial distribution of motor unit fibers in the cat soleus and tibialis anterior muscles: local interactions. J Neurosci 8:2142–2152
Roy RR, Garfinkel A, Ounjian M, Payne J, Hirahara A, Hsu E, Edgerton VR (1995) Three-dimensional structure of cat tibialis anterior motor units. Muscle Nerve 18:1187–1195
Trotter JA, Richmond FJR, Purslow PP (1995) Functional morphology and motor control of series-fibered muscles. Exerc Sports Sci Rev 23:167–213
English AW, Letbetter WD (1982) Anatomy and innervation patterns of cat lateral gastrocnemius and plantaris muscles. Am J Anat 164:67–77
Bodine SC, Roy RR, Meadows DA, Zernicke RF, Sacks RD, Fournier M, Edgerton VR (1982) Architectural, histochemical, and contractile characteristics of a unique biarticular muscle: the cat semitendinosus. J Neurophysiol 48:192–201
Edgerton VR, Bodine SC, Roy RR (1987) Muscle architecture and performance: Stress and strain relationships in a muscle with two compartments arranged in series. Med Sport Sci 26:12–23
Muramatsu T, Muraoka T, Takeshita D, Kawakami Y, Hirano Y, Fukunaga T (2001) Mechanical properties of tendon and aponeurosis of human gastrocnemius muscle in vivo. J Appl Physiol 90:1671–1678
Finni T, Hodgson JA, Lai AM, Edgerton VR, Sinha S (2003) Nonuniform strain of human soleus aponeurosis-tendon complex during submaximal voluntary contractions. J Appl Physiol 95:829–837
Lieber RL, Friden J (2004) Implications of muscle design on surgical reconstruction of upper extremities. Clin Orthop 419:267–279
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer-Verlag GmbH Berlin Heidelberg
About this entry
Cite this entry
Roy, R.R., Edgerton, V.R. (2009). Skeletal Muscle Architecture. In: Binder, M.D., Hirokawa, N., Windhorst, U. (eds) Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29678-2_5425
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29678-2_5425
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-23735-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-29678-2
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences