J Physiol Society Membership
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


J Physiol Vol 330 pp 221-242
Copyright © 1982 by The Physiological Society
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Daut, J
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Daut, J

The passive electrical properties of guinea-pig ventricular muscle as examined with a voltage-clamp technique.

J Daut

1. A voltage-clamp technique was developed for stable recording of small currents in guinea-pig ventricular muscle. Small cylindrical preparations were impaled with three micro-electrodes, one for measuring the feed-back potential and two for injecting current. 2. The longitudinal potential profile resulting from current injection at one point was measured. It agreed well with the theoretical predictions for a linear cable which is sealed at both ends ('healing over'), with a length constant (lambda) of 580 +/- 145 micron. 3. When the clamp current was injected symmetrically into each half of the preparation via two electronic current pumps a spatially homogeneous clamp could be achieved in preparations with a diameter of less than or equal to 250 micron and a length of less than or equal to 2 lambda. 4. The membrane capacity and the membrane resistance of the preparations at the resting potential were measured with small voltage-clamp pulses. Assuming a specific membrane capacity (Cm) of 1 microF/cm2 a specific membrane resistance (Rm) of 6.7 +/- 1.8 k omega cm2 was obtained in Tyrode solution containing 3 mM-K. 5. The total surface area was calculated from the measured capacity of the preparation assuming a Cm of 1 microF/cm2. The total cellular volume was estimated from optical measurement of the external dimensions of the preparation assuming an extracellular space of 25%. From these data the average surface/volume ratio of individual cells was calculated to be 7200 cm2/cm3. 6. From the measured electrical constants the specific resistance of the intracellular space (Ri) was calculated to be 200-250 omega cm. With small constant current pulses a membrane time constant of 6.6 +/- 1.3 ms was measured. 7. The influence of the extracellular potassium concentration ([K]o) on Rm was studied in the range 1.5-6 mM-[K]o. Rm was found to depend on [K]o less than predicted by the constant field theory.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol.Home page
T. Wolf, L. Gepstein, G. Hayam, A. Zaretzky, R. Shofty, D. Kirshenbaum, G. Uretzky, U. Oron, and S. A. Ben-Haim
Three-dimensional endocardial impedance mapping: a new approach for myocardial infarction assessment
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, January 1, 2001; 280(1): H179 - H188.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Physiol. Rev.Home page
O. M. Sejersted and G. Sjogaard
Dynamics and Consequences of Potassium Shifts in Skeletal Muscle and Heart During Exercise
Physiol Rev, October 1, 2000; 80(4): 1411 - 1481.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1982 The Physiological Society.