Locomotor Function of the Extrinsic Appendicular Muscles of Tetrapods

Extrinsic appendicular muscles cross from the trunk to the limbs. Our interest in these muscles has been driven by a desire to better understand the moments they apply to the trunk.

OUR STUDIES

Carrier, D. R., S. M. Deban and T. Fischbein. (2006). Locomotor function of the pectoral girdle “muscular sling” in trotting dogs. J. Exp. Biol. 209, 2224-2237. Full text of this article in PDF

Carrier, D. R., S. M. Deban, and T. Fischbein. (2008). Locomotor function of forelimb protractor and retractor muscles of dogs: evidence of strut-like behavior at the shoulder. J. Exp. Biol. 211, 150-162.  Full text of this article in PDF

Schilling, N., T. Fischbein, E. P. Yang and D. R. Carrier. (2009). Function of the extrinsic hindlimb muscles in trotting dogs. J. Exp. Biol. 212, 1036-1052.  Full text of this article in PDF

Deban, S. M., N. Schilling, and D. R. Carrier. (2012). Activity of extrinsic limb muscles in dogs at walk, trot and gallop. J. Exp. Biol. 215, 287-300. Full text of this article in PDF

Carrier, D. R., N. Schilling and C. Anders. (2015). Muscle activation during maximal effort tasks: evidence of the selective forces that shaped the musculoskeletal system of humans. Biology open bio-014381. Full text of this article in PDF

 

SELECTED STUDIES ON THIS TOPIC BY OTHER AUTHORS

Davis, D. D. (1949). The shoulder architecture of bears and other carnivores. Fieldiana (Zool.) 31, 285-305.

Tokuriki, M. (1973). Electromyographic and joint-mechanical studies in quadrupedal locomotion. II. Trot. Jpn. J. vet. Sci. 35, 525-533.

Tokuriki, M. (1974). Electromyographic and joint-mechanical studies in quadrupedal locomotion. III. Gallop. Jpn. J. vet. Sci. 36, 121-132.

English, A. W. (1978). Functional analysis of the shoulder girdle of cats during locomotion. J. Morph. 156, 279-292.

Jenkins, F. A. and Weijs, W. A. (1979). The functional anatomy of the shoulder in the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana). J. Zool., Lond. 188, 379-410.

Fischer, M. S. (1994). Crouched posture and high fulcrum, a principle in the locomotion of small mammals: the example of the rock hyrax (Procavia capensis)(Mammalia: Hyracoidea). Journal of Human Evolution 26, 501-524.

Schmidt, M. and Fischer, M. S. (2000). Cineradiographic study of forelimb movements during quadrupedal walking in the brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus, Primates: Lemuridae). American journal of physical anthropology 111, 245-262.

Fischer, M. S., Schilling, N., Schmidt, M., Haarhaus, D. and Witte, H. F. (2002). Basic limb kinematics of small therian mammals. J. Exp. Biol. 205, 1315-1338.

Schmidt, M., Voges, D. and Fischer, M. S. (2002). Shoulder movements during quadrupedal locomotion in arboreal primates. Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie, 235-242.

Lee, D. V., McGuigan, M. P., Yoo, E. H. and Biewener, A. A. (2008). Compliance, actuation, and work characteristics of the goat foreleg and hindleg during level, uphill, and downhill running. Journal of applied physiology 104, 130-141.

Williams, S. B., Wilson, A. M., Daynes, J., Peckham, K. and Payne, R. C. (2008). Functional anatomy and muscle moment arms of the thoracic limb of an elite sprinting athlete: the racing greyhound (Canis familiaris). Journal of Anatomy 213, 373-382.

Nyakatura, J. A., Petrovitch, A. and Fischer, M. S. (2010). Limb kinematics during locomotion in the two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus, Xenarthra) and its implications for the evolution of the sloth locomotor apparatus. Zoology 113, 221-234.

Lee, D. V. (2011). Effects of grade and mass distribution on the mechanics of trotting in dogs. The Journal of experimental biology 214, 402-411.

Hudson, P. E., Corr, S. A., Payne‐Davis, R. C., Clancy, S. N., Lane, E. and Wilson, A. M. (2011). Functional anatomy of the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) forelimb. Journal of Anatomy 218, 375-385.

Nyakatura, J. A. and Fischer, M. S. (2011). Functional morphology of the muscular sling at the pectoral girdle in tree sloths: convergent morphological solutions to new functional demands?. Journal of anatomy 219, 360-374.

Nyakatura, J. A. (2012). The convergent evolution of suspensory posture and locomotion in tree sloths. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 19, 225-234.

Bockstahler, B., Kräutler, C., Holler, P., Kotschwar, A., Vobornik, A. and Peham, C. (2012). Pelvic limb kinematics and surface electromyography of the vastus lateralis, biceps femoris, and gluteus medius muscle in dogs with hip osteoarthritis. Veterinary Surgery 41, 54-62.

Fischer, S., Nolte, I. and Schilling, N. (2013). Adaptations in muscle activity to induced, short-term hindlimb lameness in trotting dogs. Plos One e80987.

Fischer, S., Anders, A., Nolte, I. and Schilling, N. (2013). Compensatory load redistribution in walking and trotting dogs with hind limb lameness. The Veterinary Journal 197, 746-752.

Fuchs, A., Anders, A., Nolte, I. and Schilling, N. (2015). Limb and back muscle activity adaptations to tripedal locomotion in dogs. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology 323, 506-515.