Isometric tension and instantaneous stiffness in amphibian skeletal muscle exposed to solutions of increased tonicity

Abstract

The instantaneous elasticity and maximum isometric tetanic tension of isolated frog and toad sartorii have been measured in hypertonic Ringer solution. Although the mechanical response of contracting muscle continued to decrease as the tonicity of the bathing solution was increased to 1.26 × R, 1.52 × R, and 2.04 × R, a similar change in the instantaneous stiffness could not be shown. This finding was not expected on the basis of our current model of the cross-bridge mechanism which predicts that the instantaneous stiffness is a measure of the total number of tension-generating cross-bridges formed in a stimulated muscle. The compatability of our findings with an electrostatic theory of the cross-bridge mechanism proposed by Iwazumi (1970) is discussed.