AMPHIBIAN EXPERIMENTS

1)Why should the sciatic nerve not be allowed to come in contact with any
metal during dissection?
Touching the nerve with metal stimulates it and cause muscle
contraction. Repeated contact with any object stimulates the nerve leading
to muscle fatigue.
2) What is the advantage of keeping the knee joint intact ?
The knee joint is kept intact
a. to fix it to the board along with the nerve and the muscle.
b. the nerve may get cut in the process of cutting the knee joint
RECORDING OF SIMPLE MUSCLE TWITCH
1)Give the normal durations of LP, CP and RP.
• Latent Period - 0.01s,
• Contraction phase - 0.04s
• Relaxation phase -0.05s
2) what is the difference between the isotonic and isometric muscle
contraction?
S.N Isotonic contraction Isometric contraction
o
1 Muscle shortens in length and Length of the muscle remains
the tension remains constant unchanged and the muscle
tension changes
2 External work is done No external work is done
3 Less or no heat production is Maximal heat is produced
seen
4 LP, CP and RP are in shorter LP, CP and RP are in longer
duration duration
3) Correlate the SMT and its action potential on the same time scale.
When the muscle action potential and twitch are plotted on the same
time scale, the twitch starts about @ msec after the start of depolarisation of
the membrane before repolorisation is complete

EFFECT OF CHANGES IN TEMPERATURE ON SIMPLE

MUSCLE TWITCH
1. Give the physiological significance of this experiment.
Efficiency of skeletal muscle contraction increases with increase in
surrounding temperature within physiological limits. This is specially
useful during exercise.
2. Why are the human muscles just as active in winter as in summer?
This is because man being homeothermic can maintain the internal body
temperature within a narrow range inspite of wide variations in
environmental temperature.
3. What is heat rigor ?
When the temperature of Ringer solution exceeds 45 c ,the muscle
proteins get denaturated . Due to this actin and myosin filaments are unable
to carry out their function . hence the muscle remains in a state of
permanent contraction called heat rigor
EFFECT OF TWO SUCCESSIVE STIMULI ON SKELETAL
MUSCLE CONTRACTION
1. What is beneficial effect and mention its mechanism?
The beneficial effect is seen when two successive stimuli are given. The
contraction produced by the second stimulus will be greater than the first
stimulus.
Reason:
- During second stimulus, there is less relaxation, or incomplete
relaxation of first stimulus, hence Ca2+ remains in the sarcoplasm for
a longer time. Additional Ca2+ released by the second stimulus,
increases the duration of the active state. The prolonged active state
increases the amount of stretch on the muscle and more force is
transmitted to the recording electrode, thus increasing height of the
curve
- Decrease in the viscosity of the muscle resulting from the first
contraction decreases the inertia of the muscle,
- increase in H+ ion concentration and increase in temperature
2. Define summation.
When a single response is obtained by giving two stimuli, either
simultaneously or in one after the another, the response produced is greater
than that obtained if given single stimulus separately This phenomenon is
called summation.
EFFECT OF INCREASING STRENGTH OF STIMULI ON
SKELETAL MUSCLE CONTRACTION :
1)Define sub-threshold,threshold, maximal and supra maximal stimulus
sub-threshold- a stimulus below the threshold that will not elicit a
response.
threshold- a stimulus just sufficient to elicit a response,
maximal stimulus-The stimulus of increased strength which produces
maximum response
supra maximal stimulus-stimuli which exceeds the maximal value beyond
which there is no further increase in response.
2.what is a motor unit?
The muscle fibres innervated by one single nerve and all its branches.
3) How is the gradation of muscular movements brought about?
Gradation of muscular movements depends on the following factors:
i)Number of motor units activated at a time that implies recruitment of
motor units
ii) frequency of discharge in individual nerve fiber that implies duration for
which motor units are being stimulated
iii) optimal length of the muscle - the length at which they develop
maximum active tension
GENESIS OF TETANUS
1.Define Treppe,clonus,incomplete and complete tetanus.
Treppe or staircase phenomenon
When a series of maximal stimuli are delivered to a skeletal muscle at
a frequency, successive stimuli may fall during the relaxation phase of
previous stimulus. There occurs an increase in the tension developed during
each twitch. After several contractions an uniform tension per contraction
is reached.
Clonus :
With repeated maximal stimulation the successive stimuli falls during the
mid relaxation phase of the previous stimulus, the muscle relaxes but not
completely
tetanus
- with repeated maximal stimulation during contraction phase, the
contractile mechanism occurs repeatedly without relaxation and the
individual response fuse into one continuous contraction.
i) complete tetanus - when there is no relaxation between stimuli
ii)incomplete tetanus - when there are periods of incomplete relaxation
between the summated stimuli.

2.what is the physiological rate of stimulation during voluntary muscle

contraction,and how is it maintained?
The physiological rate of stimulation during voluntary muscle contraction is
5-18/sec.These tetanic contraction are usually achieved during severe
isometric exercises.But the disadvantage of this is that it occludes the blood
supply to the muscle. That is why Renshaw cell keeps the stimulation rate
maintained at a subtetanic level. The asynchronous discharge of nerve
fibers causes smooth muscular contractions,even when the stimulation is at
sub-tetanic level.
3. difference between tetanus, contracture,rigor and rigor mortis?
Tetanus
- with repeated maximal stimulation during contraction phase, the
contractile mechanism occurs repeatedly without relaxation and the
individual response fuse into one continuous contraction.
Contracture
- Contracted muscle fails to relax because the ATP required to remove
Ca back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum is not available. It is a
reversible phenomenon.
Rigor and rigor mortis:
- when muscle fibres are completely depleted of ATP and
phosphocreatine,they develop a state of rigidity called Rigor.
- when this occurs after death it is called rigor mortis.
4.why can cardiac muscle not be tetanized?
In cardiac muscles, summation of contractile response is not possible due to
the absolute refractory period duration which is 180-200 msec.
5. give examples of slow and fast muscles and their relative tetanizable
frequencies.
- Extra ocular muscles and some muscles of hand are fast muscles, long
muscles of back and soleus are slow muscles.
- Fast muscles have higher tetanizing frequency.
6) what is the relevance of this experiment to medical physiology?
i)Muscular activity involved in the maintenance of posture, and is of tetanic
type.
ii)the strength of muscle contraction is proportional to the number of motor
units.
7.how does tetanus differ from tetany?
Tetany occurs due to decrease in ionized ca (<50% of normal) causing
neuromuscular hyperexcitability, this leads to cramps in extremities due to
extensive spasm of skeletal muscle.
EFFECT OF LOAD ON SKELETAL MUSCLE
1. Define resting length, initial length, equilibrium length and optimal
length of a muscle
i)resting lengthlength at which muscle is present under natural conditions
in the body in relaxed state.
ii)initial lengthlength before the muscle begins to contract
iii)equilibrium length length of the relaxed muscle cut free from its bony
attachment.
iv)optimal lengthlength at which the muscle is present at rest and at this
length they develop maximum active tension(maximal action-
mysosincoupling).
2.Define optimum load.
The load at which maximum work is done and is about 40% of the load the
muscle is just unable to lift.
3.What is the relevance of this experiment to medical physiology?
It is beneficial in everyday life and in rehabilitation of physically
handicapped patients, one realizes that freeloaded state is more economical
than the after loaded state;
4.Define free loading and after loading of cardiac muscle in vivo.
In free loadcondition, it is the degree to which the myocardium is stretched
before it contracts; whereas in after loadcondition,it is the resistance against
which the ventricles pump the blood.
GENESIS OF FATIGUE
1.Define fatigue
Due to continuous stimuli, the muscle exhausts its energy supply and
thereby goes for a state of inactivity.
2.What is the first site of fatigue in an isolated nerve muscle preparation?
justify:
in an isolated nerve muscle preparation neuromuscular junction seems to be
the site of fatigue.this can be shown indirectly as follows:
i)to prove that the muscle is not the site of fatigue, The muscle is stimulated
directly after fatigue sets in. it is observed that muscle contracts vigorously.
ii) to prove that the nerve is not the site of fatigue,take two nerve –muscle
preparations,cross the nerves and a block of ice is kept over one of the
nerve –muscle preparations to prevent the transmission of nerve impulses.
Both the preparations are stimulated till fatigue sets in. Now remove the
block of ice and stimulate the nerve, the muscle contracts which proves
nerve is not the site of fatigue.
3. What is contraction remainder?
In experiment, following the depletion of ATP, there is incomplete
relaxation of muscle and hence electrodepoint writing the graph does not
come down to its original positionand baseline rises. This is called as
contraction remainder
4.Which is the first site of fatigue inman?
- It is the synapse in the brain and NMJ in the peripheral muscles.

DETERMINATION OF CONDUCTION VELOCITY OF SCIATIC

NERVE
1.What is the normal conduction velocity of the frog’s sciatic nerve?
Ans : normally it is 40 meters/sec.

2.Classify nerve fibres and mention its function.

Ans : according to erlanger& gasser classification, the nerve fibers are
divided into alpha, beta, gamma and delta fibers.
Fiber type function
1.Aα proprioception, somatic motor
2.Aβ touch, pressure
3.Aγ motor to muscle spindles
4.Aδ pain, temperature, touch
5. B preganglionic autonomic fibers
6.C dorsal root : pain, touch, temperature, postganglionic
sympathetic fibers.
3.Enumerate the factors which affects the conduction velocity in a
nerve fibre.
Ans :i) Diameter of the nerve fibers
ii) Presence or absence of myelination
iii)Temperature
iv)Conducting media in which nerve is placed
4.Mention the relevance of this experiment to medical physiology?
Ans :Determination of conduction velocity in a nerve helps to trace the
recovery of nerve injuries and assess the extent of damage done to a nerve
due to trauma or in demyelination disorders.