Virtual Physiology: SimMuscle

SimMuscle offers a fully equipped, realistically appearing laboratory on the computer screen to perform classical experiments with isolated nerve-muscle preparations of the frog. All stimulation and recording parameters of the virtual devices are freely adjustable. Mathematical algorithms guarantee for the appropriated reactions of the virtual muscle, also considering the biological diversity of the preparations.

Contains two nerve-muscle preparations and all the apparatus that you will need for experimentation in a simplified but quite realistic form.

When entering the lab you first need to switch on all the devices (POWER buttons). Then drag one of two already prepared nerve-muscle preparations from the Petri-dish to hang it in the suspension apparatus. This includes a mechano-electrical converter transforming changes of either the muscle force or muscle length, selectable by a toggle switch, into an electric potential. You can pre-stretch the muscle hanging one or more weights in the loop at which the muscle is fixed. Muscle contractions are induced by current pulses delivered from a stimulation apparatus to the electrodes on which the nerve is placed. Stimuli as well as muscle contractions are displayed on a dual beam storage oscilloscope, appropriately displayed with accordingly adjusted voltage amplification and time base (via the rotary switches) and zero lines. Single or double pulses as well as trains of stimuli of selectable amplitude and intervals can be applied. The example shows muscle contractions, here changes of the muscle length, in response to different trains of voltage pulses inducing isolated twitches, incomplete and complete tetanic contractions depending on the intervals in which the pulses are applied.

Featured experiments:

Single twitches and their stimulus dependencies (recruitement of motor units),
superposition of single twitches, tetanic contractions, resting tension curves (pre-stretching),
curves of isometric and isotonic maxima, muscle fatigue.

• First version published January 29, 2013. Last update October 08, 2017. 
• Download a fully functioning DEMO Version.         

SimMuscle is a part of Virtual Physiology Series that consists of 5 interactive simulation CD-ROMS:

• SimNerv 
• SimVessel 
• SimHeart
• SimNeuron 
• SimMuscle 

The series covers the entire field of nerve-muscle physiology and simulates all of the classic experiments conducted by medical, dental, veterinary, biology and chemistry students. All stimulation and recording devices are freely adjustable. Mathematical algorithms guarantee for the appropriate reactions of the preparations in all situations, also considering their physiological diversity.

Programs running on all Windows platforms, from Win XP to Win 10, 32 bit as well as 64 bit
versions. SimHeart and SimVessel also include .swf files to run on MacOS.

It is part of the cLABs set produced by Professor Hans Braun (see also record numbers 5406 and 5407). 

Price: Please see Virtual-Physiology.