Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 1995 Nov:50 Spec No:23-9.
doi: 10.1093/gerona/50a.special_issue.23.

Measurement of skeletal muscle: laboratory and epidemiological methods

S B Heymsfield  1 , D Gallagher, M Visser, C Nuñez, Z M Wang
Affiliations
Review

Measurement of skeletal muscle: laboratory and epidemiological methods

S B Heymsfield et al. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 1995 Nov.

Abstract

Despite skeletal muscle's central role in the pathogenesis of sarcopenia, measurement methods remain underinvestigated and inadequately validated. Our review indicates that skeletal muscle (SM) measurement methods quantify different components and properties of muscle, ranging from the atomic to whole-body levels of body composition. Laboratory methods tend to measure whole body SM (e.g., total muscle protein, muscle cell mass, and adipose tissue-free SM components) while epidemiological methods tend to measure regional muscle (e.g., anatomic SM of an extremity). Advances in computerized axial tomography and magnetic resonance imaging methods now allow accurate estimates of whole body and regional SM and promise to finally permit comprehensive in vivo studies of SM biology and methodology. These imaging methods may help to resolve many of the confusing issues that surround the investigation of this major body composition component.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

  • Large meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies five loci for lean body mass.
    Zillikens MC, Demissie S, Hsu YH, Yerges-Armstrong LM, Chou WC, Stolk L, Livshits G, Broer L, Johnson T, Koller DL, Kutalik Z, Luan J, Malkin I, Ried JS, Smith AV, Thorleifsson G, Vandenput L, Hua Zhao J, Zhang W, Aghdassi A, Åkesson K, Amin N, Baier LJ, Barroso I, Bennett DA, Bertram L, Biffar R, Bochud M, Boehnke M, Borecki IB, Buchman AS, Byberg L, Campbell H, Campos Obanda N, Cauley JA, Cawthon PM, Cederberg H, Chen Z, Cho NH, Jin Choi H, Claussnitzer M, Collins F, Cummings SR, De Jager PL, Demuth I, Dhonukshe-Rutten RAM, Diatchenko L, Eiriksdottir G, Enneman AW, Erdos M, Eriksson JG, Eriksson J, Estrada K, Evans DS, Feitosa MF, Fu M, Garcia M, Gieger C, Girke T, Glazer NL, Grallert H, Grewal J, Han BG, Hanson RL, Hayward C, Hofman A, Hoffman EP, Homuth G, Hsueh WC, Hubal MJ, Hubbard A, Huffman KM, Husted LB, Illig T, Ingelsson E, Ittermann T, Jansson JO, Jordan JM, Jula A, Karlsson M, Khaw KT, Kilpeläinen TO, Klopp N, Kloth JSL, Koistinen HA, Kraus WE, Kritchevsky S, Kuulasmaa T, Kuusisto J, Laakso M, Lahti J, Lang T, Langdahl BL, Launer LJ, Lee JY, Lerch MM, Lewis JR, Lind L, Lindgren C, Liu Y, Liu T, Liu Y, Ljunggren Ö, Lorentzon M, Luben RN, Maixner W, McGuigan FE, Medina-… See abstract for full author list ➔ Zillikens MC, et al. Nat Commun. 2017 Jul 19;8(1):80. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-00031-7. Nat Commun. 2017. PMID: 28724990 Free PMC article.
  • D3 -creatine dilution for skeletal muscle mass measurement: historical development and current status.
    McCarthy C, Schoeller D, Brown JC, Gonzalez MC, Varanoske AN, Cataldi D, Shepherd J, Heymsfield SB. McCarthy C, et al. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2022 Dec;13(6):2595-2607. doi: 10.1002/jcsm.13083. Epub 2022 Sep 5. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2022. PMID: 36059250 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Development of an estimated glomerular filtration rate formula in cats.
    Finch NC, Syme HM, Elliott J. Finch NC, et al. J Vet Intern Med. 2018 Nov;32(6):1970-1976. doi: 10.1111/jvim.15325. Epub 2018 Oct 30. J Vet Intern Med. 2018. PMID: 30378177 Free PMC article.
  • Can increasing physical activity prevent aging-related loss of skeletal muscle?
    Heymsfield SB, Fearnbach N. Heymsfield SB, et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 2021 Nov 8;114(5):1579-1580. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqab283. Am J Clin Nutr. 2021. PMID: 34476475 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • Preliminary study on the application of bioimpedance analysis to measure the psoas major muscle in older adults.
    Chu LP, Chen KT, Lu HK, Lai CL, Huang HC, Hsieh KC. Chu LP, et al. PLoS One. 2023 Mar 30;18(3):e0275884. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275884. eCollection 2023. PLoS One. 2023. PMID: 36996063 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources