Muscle Sarcomeres

Description

2019 Honorable Mention, Northwestern Scientific Images Contest. This image captures muscle sarcomeres (consecutive green lines), the smallest functional unit of muscle, from inside a living human. The mesmerizing periodicity in the image is the naturally occurring arrangement of sarcomeres. A whole muscle(ex. biceps) is made up of hundreds of thousands of sarcomeres. For the biceps to shorten and produce force, each of these individual sarcomeres need to shorten (green lines would come closer together), producing force. Imaging and measurement of sarcomeres has, until recently, been limited to animals, cadavers, and humans undergoing surgery. With the advent of this imaging technique (second harmonic generation microendoscopy) we are able to study how muscle sarcomeres change due to disease or following an injury or surgery, and potentially link sarcomere changes to clinically observed movement deficits in these populations; knowledge which could help us design better rehabilitation interventions and/or surgeries to address movement impairments.

Abstract

This image originally appeared as part of Northwestern's Scientific Images Contest. The contest and subsequent exhibitions are organized by Science in Society, the university's research center for science education and public engagement. Further information and opportunities to participate are available on their website.

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