CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY 

 OF SMOOTH AND STRIATED MUSCLE 



EDWARD B. MEIGS 

 From The Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology 



TWENTY FIGURES 



CONTENTS 



Introduction: the present state of the subject 498 



The osmotic properties of striated muscle 499 



The osmotic properties of smooth muscle 502 



The chemistry and physics of the contraction of smooth muscle 503 



Methods of experimentation 504 



A comparison of the changes of weight undergone by smooth and striated 



muscle in various isotonic and non-isotonic solutions 510 



Experiments with Ringer's solution 510 



Experiments with diluted and concentrated Ringer's solution 512 



Experiments with solutions of single electrolytes 516 



Experiments with solutions of non-electrolytes 520 



Experiments with distilled water 523 



Experiments with acidified Ringer's solution 523 



The changes of weight undergone by connective tissue in various solutions .... 526 



Summary of the results so far described 528 



Chemical experiments on the diffusion of salt and sugar through the sur- 

 face of the smooth muscle fibers 529 



The changes of length undergone by smooth muscle in various solutions 532 



General discussion 536 



Evidence that the smooth muscle fibers change in volume when immersed 



in various solutions 536 



The osmotic properties of striated muscle 538 



The osmotic properties of smooth muscle 540 



General physiology of striated and smooth muscle 542 



General conclusions 547 



Protocols of the experiments 549 



497 



THE JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY, VOL. 13, NO. 4 

 NOVEMBER, 1912 



