Microcomputer Simulations of Mechanical Properties of Skeletal Muscle for Undergraduate Classes

Abstract

In a previous paper, the development of interactive simulations of neurophysiology experiments for undergraduate classes was described. Similar voltage/time displays are used in other areas of undergraduate physiology classes and could therefore be simulated in this way. One such area is in the study of the mechanical properties of muscle, in which a transducer is used to translate muscle length or tension changes into voltages. This paper describes the development and class use of interactive simulations of experiments using isometric recordings from isolated frog muscle.