GASTROCNEMIUS AND CARDIAC MUSCLE CONTRACTION

ON FROG (Fejervarya cancrivora)

Name : Anang Yanuar Ramadhan

Student ID : B1B015015
Entourage : VIII
Group :3
Assistant : Utami Sari Dewi

PRACTICAL REPORT OF ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY I

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE

JENDERAL SOEDIRMAN UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF BIOLOGY
PURWOKERTO
2020
 I. INTRODUCTION

A. Background

Muscles are active locomotors because able to contract. Muscle functions

include making body movements, maintaining body posture with the skeleton,
stabilizing the relationship between bones, maintaining body temperature,
protecting tissues in the body and storing a little nutrition. Muscle contractions are
divided into isometric contractions and isotonic contractions. Isometric
contractions (same distance), the amount of pressure increases during the
contraction process, but the muscle length does not change. Isotonic contractions
(equal pressure), the amount of pressure produced by the muscles is constant
during contractions, but the length of the muscles decreases (muscles shorten)
(Rahilly, 1995).
Muscles are divided into several types including striated muscle, smooth
muscle and heart muscle. Striated muscle has an effective design for spontaneous
movement and requires great energy. Its movements are regulated by signals from
motor nerve cells. This muscle attaches to the skeleton and is used for movement.
Smooth muscle is a muscle found in the intestine and blood vessels work by the
regulation of the unconscious nervous system, the autonomic nerve. The heart
muscle found in the heart works continuously without stopping. Its movement is
not influenced by central nervous signals (Rahilly, 1995).
Gastrocnemius muscle, which is the most prominent gastrocnemius muscle
is located at the back of the calf shaped like a diamond. His job it’s to move the
sole of the foot. Gastrocnemius muscle is the most difficult muscle to train.
However, nothing is physically completed without a well-developed
Gastrocnemius muscle (Lichtwark & Wilson, 2006). Muscle types in frogs vary
depending on climate, temperature, and conditions in frog habitat. The frogs from
the Ranidae family have rear limbs that are longer and more muscular than their
front limbs, so they have the ability to jump quickly and can travel great distances
in one jump. Members of this family are most commonly found on Lombok Island
which includes 4 genera, namely Rana, Fejervarya, Limnonectes and
Phrynoglosus (Syazali et al., 2016).
Heart muscle is a muscle that is only found in the heart. This muscle is the
most special muscle because it has shape that almost same as the striated muscle,
which has striated but the difference with striated muscle is that the striated
muscle has one or two nuclei located in the middle or edge of the cell, whereas the
heart muscle is the only muscle which has branches called intercalated discs. The
heart muscle works without the influence of the conscious nerve or works without
conscious thought. The heart continues to beat even though all the nerves leading
to it are cut off. The working system of the heart such as a pump has two
mechanisms of motion, namely cystole and diastole. Cystole is a condition when
the ventricle is narrowed and contracted, while diastole is a condition when the
ventricle expands and experiences relaxation (McGowan et al., 2013).
According to Irawati (2015), heart muscle cell contraction occurs by the
action potential delivered along the heart muscle cell membrane. The heart will
contract rhythmically, due to an electrical impulse generated by the heart itself
called "autorhytmicity". There are two special types of heart muscle cells, namely:
contractile cells and authoritarian cells. Heart muscle cell contractions occur by
the action potential delivered along the heart muscle cell membrane. The heart
will contract rhythmically, due to electrical impulses generated by the heart itself.
Potential for action on the nerve membrane and skeletal muscle can occur if there
are stimuli from the outside whereas in the heart muscle cell membranes the
action potential can occur without any stimulation. Different from nerve cells and
skeletal muscle cells that have resting membrane potential. Special cells of the
heart do not have resting membrane potential.
The mechanism of muscle contraction takes place in the order of the motor
centers in the brain sending impulses to the muscles through the motor nerve,
when he reaches the end of the motor nerve axons, the stimulation is continued by
neurohumors in the form of acetylcholine or adrenaline to the muscles (receptors
in the muscles) that have actin. After the stimulation reaches the receptor, energy
is released, then the actin will shift, the H zone shrinks and even disappears and
the sarcomere shortens (Sadina, 2013). At the shortest in vivo lengths, relaxed
muscles can fall slack. When the muscle is lengthened, the slack is taken up.
When the gastrocnemius muscle–tendon unit was passively lengthened by
dorsiflexing the ankle, muscle fascicle lengths initially did not change. This
confirms that the fascicles were slack at short muscle–tendon lengths. In all
subjects, fascicles began to lengthen between 18 and 52% of the individual’s in
vivo range of muscle–tendon lengths (Herbert et al., 2015).
 Factors that affect gastrocnemius muscle contraction according to
Hadikastowo (1982), one of which is the burden. Giving a load causes decreased
muscle contraction than those who were not given a load. Besides weight there is
also a muscle length. Muscle length that is shorter than normal or greater than
normal, the active stress is less so that muscle contraction decreases. The third
factor is voltage. The higher the tension the higher the muscle contraction. The
next factor is the number of individual fibers. The strength of contraction of all
muscles increases with increasing number of individual fibers that contract.
According to Frandson (1992), heart muscle contraction is influenced by
several factors including Treppe or the staircase effect. Staircase effect is the
increase in the strength of the contractions repeatedly in a muscle fibers due to
sequential stimulation of several seconds. This effect is due to the concentration
of Ca2 + ions in muscle fibers which increases myofibril activity. The next factor
is Summasi. In contrast to treppe, the summation of each muscle to contract with
different strengths is the result of the sum of the two road contractions
(summation of multiple motor units and wavy summation). The third factor,
Tetani, is an increase in the frequency of stimulus quickly so that there is no
increase in frequency. The fourth factor, Fatique, is a decrease in work capacity
due to the work itself. The fifth factor is Rigor and rigor mortis is when most of
the ATP in the muscle has been depleted, so that no more calcium can be returned
to RE sarcoplasma.

B. Purpose

The objectives of this laboratory activity are :

1. Determine the effect of electrical stimulation on the magnitude of the response
of gastrocnemius muscle contraction
2. Determine the effect of chemical stimulation on contraction of the frog heart
muscle
 II. MATERIAL AND METHODS

A. Material

Tools that used in this laboratory activity are universal kymograph with the
accessories, tray, pipette, needle, scissor, thread, beaker glass, tweezer, dissection
kit and milimeter block.
Materials that used in this laboratory activity are frog (Fejervarya
cancrivora), ringer solution and pilocarpine solution 1% & 2%.

B. Methods

1. Contraction of gastrocnemius muscle measurement

a. Universal Kymograph with its accessories is prepared. Frog is weakened
by damaging its brain and spinal cord with needle.
b. Frog is stretched out on specimen tray, skin is sliced circular off on its
ankle.
c. Skin edge that had sliced off is held tight and skin is revealed until opened
to knee.
d. Gastrocnemius muscle is separated from another muscle on lower leg.
e. Tendon is tied with thread then Achilles tendon is cut with scissor.
f. Gastrocnemius muscle always moistened with Ringer solution using
pipette.
g. Frog is put on fixation board that belongs to Kymograph.
h. Height scale of each electric stimulation in Kymograph with various
voltage (0, 10, 15, 20, 25) is recorded.
i. The graph of relationship between the voltage and amplitude of
gastrocnemius muscle contraction is made.
2. Heart muscle contraction measurement
a. Universal Kymograph with its accessories is prepared .Frog is weakened
by damaging its brain and spinal cord with needle.
b. Dissection is done on the frog chest from abdominal until the cardiac is
seen.
c. The membrane on the cardiac is tore.
d. The kymograph is turned on in 25 mm speed per seconds. Contraction of
cardiac muscle is observed (drawn in graph paper).
e. Heart is dropped with 2-3 of 1% pilocarpine solution.
f. Another contraction of cardiac muscle for one minute is counted.
 III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

A. Result

Table 3.1 Observation Result of Gastrocnemius Muscle Contraction of Field

Frog (Fejervarya cancrivora)

Electric stimulates (V) Amplitude (mm)

0 0
5 0,1
10 1,9
15 3,4
20 1,5
25 2,2

Table 3.2 Observation Result of Cardiac Muscle of Field Frog (Fejervarya

cancrivora)

Pilocarpine 1% Pilocarpine 2%
Before treatment After treatment Before treatment After treatment
64 52 80 36
56 52 52 20
64 40 60 27

4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0 5 10 15 20 25

The amount of voltage(volt)

Graphic 3.1 Relationship between Amplitude with Gastrocnemius Muscle

Electric Voltage

B. Discussion

Based on laboratory activity, the result that obtained from measurement of

gastrocnemius muscle contraction of field frog (Fejervarya cancrivora) in
following voltage 0 volt, 5 volt, 10 volt, 15 volt, 20 volt, 25 volt the amplitude
 that obtained are 0 mm/volt; 0,1 mm/volt; 1,9 mm/volt; 3,4 mm/volt; 1,5 mm/volt;
2,2 mm/volt. Strength of contraction of all muscles increases with increasing
number of muscle fibers that contract. In intact animals, the strength of the
muscular response is controlled by a number of motor units that are activated by
the central nervous system. A weak shock will not affect at all, if reach this
threshold the muscles will spasm. Then because the strength of the stimulus is
increased, the number of contractions increases to a maximum point. Higher
stimulation is ineffective. How to read the amplitude in the kymograph is by
calculating the distance between one mountain and the other mountains on the
kymograph (Kimball, 1991).

IV. CONCLUSION

Based on observations and discussions it can be concluded that:

1. The amplitude of frog gastrocnemus muscle movements will increase with
electric voltage increases, because electric voltage acts as stimulation. However,
 the results obtained are not appropriate. This caused by the gastrocnemus muscle
used has been weakened due to trial preparation that takes too long.
2. The heart rate of a frog will increase with administration of an acetylcholine
solution as stimulation in a certain period. However, the results obtained are not
appropriate. This is because the heart of the frog used has weakened so that the
results not optimal

REFERENCE

Frandson.,1992. Mekanisme dan Mekanika Pergerakan Otot. Manhattan: Integral.

Hadikastowo., 1982. Zoologi Umum. Bandung: Alumni.
Herbert, R. D., Héroux, M. E., Diong, J., Bilston, L. E., Gandevia, S. C. &
Lichtwark, G. A., 2015. Changes in the Length and Three‐Dimensional
Orientation of Muscle Fascicles and Aponeuroses with Passive Length
Changes in Human Gastrocnemius Muscles. The Journal of
physiology, 593(2), pp. 441-455.
Irawati, L., 2015. Aktivitas Listrik pada Otot Jantung. Jurnal Kesehatan Andalas,
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