Histochemical analysis of fiber composition of skeletal muscles in pigeons and chickens.

Abstract

The fiber type composition of 12 skeletal muscles in pigeon and chicken were studied by staining for myofibrillar adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase: pH 10.3) and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH). The muscles contained three types of muscle fibers: FG (fast-twitch glycolytic), FOG (fast-twitch oxidative glycolytic), and SO (slow-twitch oxidative). The numbers and diameters of the different types of fibers were examined. The muscles of chickens and pigeons consisted mainly of FG and FG + FOG fibers, respectively. In m. pectorals superficialis (PS) and m. latissimus dorsi (LD), which produce flapping movements in pigeons, some clusters of FG fibers were observed among FOG fibers and the diameter of FG fibers was more than twice as large as that of FOG fibers.