Function and cytochemical characteristics of postural limb muscles of the rhesus monkey: A telemetered EMG and immunofluorescence study.

Using telemetered electromyography and immunocytochemical fibre typing (of both fresh frozen and preserved specimens), the present paper demonstrates clearly that at the elbow, knee, and ankle joints, the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) is endowed with one extensor-muscle head specialized for posture. These postural heads are distinguished by (a) recruitment at low levels to maintain joint position against the effect of gravity, (b) recruitment near maximum levels during walking, and (c) high content and relatively large size of slow, fatigue-resistant (type I) muscle fibres. The nonpostural heads of the investigated muscles were recruited at levels correlated to the strenuousness of the effort and are notable by the small percentage and size of slow muscle fibres. The postmortem stability of the structural properties of myosin makes immunocytochemical fibre typing suitable for the study of preserved cadavers. Copyright 1999 S.Karger AG, Basel.