Reconstruction of the action potential of frog sartorius muscle

Abstract

1. Propagated action potentials of striated muscle are calculated using an equivalent circuit that represents the transverse tubular system as a radial cable of sixteen elements. The membrane of the transverse tubules is assumed to have activatable ionic currents similar to those in the fibre surface.2. The configuration of the after-potential and the conduction velocity are best accounted for by postulating a resistance of about 150Omega cm(2) separating the extracellular fluid from the lumen of the transverse tubules at the edge of the fibre, and a density of sodium channels in the tubular wall about a twentieth of that in the fibre surface.3. Calculations with imposed voltage steps at the fibre surface suggest that the potential across the tubular membrane at the centre of the fibre is very far from clamped.4. Currents providing charge for the tubular capacity can give rise to substantial errors in estimating the zero-current potential of the ionic currents.