Force Characteristics of the Rat Sternomastoid Muscle Reinnervated with End-to-End Nerve Repair
Figure 5
Force-current characteristics of the SM muscle in the immediate EEA group evoked by nerve stimulation or by direct muscle stimulation. (a) Illustrates superimposed force-current characteristics of the control and operated SM muscles evoked by stimulation provided to the SM nerve. In the control SM muscle the stimulation threshold, which produced noticeable muscle contraction, was 0.02 mA. Muscle force grew with increased stimulation current until it reached a plateau at 0.2 mA. The operated muscle had a larger stimulation threshold (with detectable muscle contraction at 0.1 mA) and produced a smaller force than the control muscle. (b) Shows superimposed force-current characteristics from the operated and control SM muscles evoked by direct SM muscle stimulation.
