Skeletal Muscle Function

Publisher Summary Skeletal muscles comprise approximately 50% of the body's weight; hence, skeletal muscle cells (myofibers) constitute the largest mass of cells in the body that have similar morphological and physiological properties. The protoplasmic properties of contractility and conductility that characterize myofibers are an expression of specialized sarcoplasmic organelles, principally membranes and filaments, which are highly ordered and compartemtalized to serve those functions which in turn impart a distinctive morphology to the myofibers. Studies of muscles have provided excellent examples of the integration of form and function, whereby molecular and organelle structure and function can be directly related to cellular morphology and function, which in turn can be related to the morphology and function of the organs and organisms they serve. This chapter attempts to outline the great diversity that exists in skeletal muscles. By so doing, it is hoped that the knowledge and techniques developed over the past three decades will find their rightful introduction and application to increase recognition and understanding of neuromuscular disorders in clinical veterinary medicine.