TEXT-BOOK OF PHYSIOLOGY 



The Work Accomplished by a Muscle during the Time of a Single 

 Contraction. By work is meant the overcoming of opposing forces. 

 In the physiologic activities of the body the muscles at each contraction not 

 only overcome the resistances of antagonistic muscles, the weight of the 

 limbs, the friction of joints, etc., but in addition overcome various external 

 resistances connected with the environment e.g., gravity, cohesion, friction, 

 elasticity, etc. The muscles may therefore be regarded as machines for 

 the accomplishment of work. Experimentally the work done by an iso- 

 lated muscle may be calculated if the height of the contraction is first obtained 



and then multiplied by the weight 

 raised. The influence of the 

 weight on the height of the con- 

 traction is shown in Fig. 30, in 

 which only the height of the con- 

 traction or the degree of shorten- 

 ing and hence the lift of the weight 

 is represented. From this tracing 

 it will be observed that the extent 

 to which a muscle will shorten in 

 response to a maximal stimulus 

 is greatest when it is unweighted; 



,., but as weights differing by a corn- 

 FIG. 30. TRACING SHOWING THE GRADUAL . ji j ,i_ 



DIMINUTION IN THE HEIGHT OF THE CONTRAC- m( ? n increment are added, the 



HON AS THE WEIGHT WAS INCREASED BY A COM- height of the contraction dimin- 



I8 . ishe * until with a given weight it 

 is nil. 



A careful study of the results of this experiment will show that the 

 work done gradually increased as the load was increased from o to 70 

 grams, when it amounted to 210 gram-millimeters; but that after this, 

 even though the weight lifted was greater, the height to which it was lifted 

 was less, and hence the work done gradually decreased, until it amounte.d 

 to nothing. 



The following table will also show the work done by a frog's muscle 

 according to Rosenthal. 



Weight. 



o grams 



50 grams 



100 grams 



150 grams 



200 grams 



250 grams 



Height. 

 14 mm. 



9 mm. 



7 mm. 



5 mm. 



2 mm. 



o mm. 



Work Done. 



o gram-millimeters. 

 450 gram-millimeters. 

 700 gram-millimeters. 

 750 gram-millimeters. 

 400 gram-millimeters. 



o gram-millimeters. 



From the preceding figures it is evident that the mechanical work of a 

 muscle increases with increasing weights up to a certain maximum, and 

 then declines to zero. Equally when the muscle contracts to its maxi- 

 mum without being weighted, and when it does not contract at all from 

 being overweighted, no work is done. Between these two extremes the 

 muscle performs varying amounts of work. 



Absolute Muscle Force. The maximum amount of force which a 

 muscle puts forth during a contraction is naturally measured by the amount of 



