G. Asmussen et al., THE FORCE-VELOCITY RELATION OF THE RABBIT INFERIOR OBLIQUE MUSCLE INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE, Pflugers Archiv, 426(6), 1994, pp. 542-547
The contractile properties of the rabbit inferior oblique muscle (IO)
were studied in vitro with direct stimulation at temperatures between
20 and 35 degrees C. Isovelocity releases were used to determine the f
orce/ velocity relation. Cooling the muscle from 35 degrees C to 20 de
grees C increased contraction and half-relaxation times of single twit
ches with a temperature coefficient (Q(10)) of 0.4, but did not affect
significantly the twitch tension. The tetanic tension increases with
increasing temperature (Q(10) = 1.32). Cooling decreased the maximum s
hortening velocity of the IO with a Q(10) of 1.6 and the maximum mecha
nical power with a Q(10) of 2.3. At 35 degrees C, the maximum speed of
shortening of the muscle (19 +/- 2 muscle lengths/s, mean+/-SEM) corr
esponded to a maximum shortening velocity of the sarcomeres of 57 +/-
6 mu m/s. This value is similar to data obtained for extraocular muscl
es (EOM) of smaller rodents (mice and rats). In comparison with mammal
ian limb muscles the isometric and force-velocity properties of mammal
ian EOM appear to be virtually independent of the size of the animal.
Thus, IO is a fast-twitch muscle endowed with a maximum velocity of sh
ortening higher than that of fast-twitch skeletal muscle, but using a
tetanic mechanical power lower than that produced by slow-twitch muscl
e: the combination of these properties makes it ideally suited to move
an ocular globe of low mass at high velocity.