Cable properties of smooth muscle

Abstract

1. The cable properties of smooth muscle of guinea-pig taenia coli were studied by intracellular recording of electrotonic potentials produced by square current pulses and alternating current applied with external electrodes.2. An electrical model of the smooth muscle was constructed to test how the junctional resistance between cells affected the cable properties. The model consisted of a series of short cables (representing cells) which were connected by junctional resistances.3. It was concluded, from the experiments on the living tissue and on the model, that the electrotonic potential in smooth muscle can be expressed by the ordinary cable equation used for nerve and skeletal muscle fibres, even though the junctional resistance is of the same order of magnitude as that of the myoplasmic resistance.4. The cable equation was used to analyse the membrane parameters from the electrotonic potential, from the time course of the foot of the spike and from the conduction velocity. The analysis indicates that the smooth muscle has a membrane capacity of 2-3 muF/cm(2) and a membrane resistance of 30-50 kOmega cm(2).