The Heterogeneity in Structure and Function across Skeletal Muscle

Kissane, Roger ORCID: 0000-0001-9385-2584 and Charles, James ORCID: 0000-0001-8256-8035 (2024) The Heterogeneity in Structure and Function across Skeletal Muscle In: Cell Physiology Annual Volume 2025 [Working Title]. InTech Open.

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Summary

Skeletal muscles are crucial structures within the vertebrate musculoskeletal system and contain inherent heterogeneities in both their anatomy (i.e. extrafusal and intrafusal muscle architecture) and physiology (i.e. fibre phenotypes). However, these heterogeneities are rarely accounted for when relating muscle form and function, meaning crucial detail may be lost when studying how muscles function or respond to injuries or other neuromuscular conditions. Here, the methods used to traditionally measure several skeletal muscle parameters including fibre lengths, muscle spindle abundance and fibre phenotypes are discussed, followed by demonstrations of how more novel techniques can be used to measure and quantify the heterogeneity that exists in these same metrics within individual muscles. How these heterogeneities are related to muscle function is also examined, which lends further support to the use of modern techniques to truly understand the interactions between anatomy, physiology and function within skeletal muscle.

Item Type:	Chapter
Uncontrolled Keywords:	3208 Medical Physiology, 32 Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, 42 Health Sciences, 4207 Sports Science and Exercise, 1.1 Normal biological development and functioning, Musculoskeletal
Divisions:	Faculty of Health & Life Sciences Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Life Courses & Medical Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	15 Nov 2024 10:30
Last Modified:	09 Dec 2025 09:50
DOI:	10.5772/intechopen.1005859
Open Access URL:	https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.1005859
Related Websites:	Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3188017
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