Muscle sarcomere length following passive jaw opening in the rabbit.

Sarcomere lengths were measured microscopically in formalin-fixed jaw muscles of 14 rabbits divided into two groups; jaw open, and jaw closed. The measurements were compared by means of a nested analysis of variance. The sarcomeres of the jaw open group were longer in the masseter and temporalis muscles (jaw elevators) and shorter in the digastric muscle (jaw depressor) than were those of the jaw closed group. In the jaw closed position, sarcomeres in the deep portion of the masseter muscle become markedly shorter than those in the superficial part of the muscle. The values for sarcomere length in the masseter muscle of the jaw open group and the digastric of the jaw closed group are near the top of the ascending limb of isometric length-tension relation for the rabbit digastric muscle.