Thaw Rigor and Cell Rupture

Abstract

IN a recent communication, Marsh and Thompson¹ showed that strips of sheep muscle frozen before the onset of rigor mortis could be made to shorten by different amounts by varying the rate of thawing. They further showed that if the muscle shortened by more than 50 per cent of its original length it exuded much fluid, and they concluded that the cell membranes had been ruptured by the excessive contraction, the muscle entering what has been called the delta state.