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The activity of 14 shoulder muscles and the excursions of the shoulder girdle and forelimbs were studied by simultaneous electromyography and cineradiography in nine opossums (Didelphis virginiana) walking on a treadmill at speeds of 0.52 m/sec to 0.95 m/sec. The relative magnitudes of vertical, propulsive, braking, and transverse forces engendered by the forelimb were measured by means of a force plate and correlated with skeletal postures determined by cineradiography. This study provides basic functional‐anatomical data on the shoulder of a generalized, noncursorial therian which bear on the interpretation of the structural evolution of the shoulder known from the fossil record of mammal‐like reptiles and early mammals. The infraspinatus, supraspinatus, subscapularis, atlantoscapularis, rhomboid, triceps and the cervical part of the serratus ventralis usually begin activity during the swing phase and continue throughout most, but not all, of the propulsive phase. The thoracic part of the serratus ventralis, the posterior belly of the omohyoid, the pectoralis, and the posterior part of the latissimus dorsi are active principally during the propulsive phase; EMG signals begin after foot contact and terminate before the foot is lifted from the substrate. The teres major and the anterior part of the latissimus dorsi are active principally during the transition from propulsion to swing phase. The deltoid, posterior trapezius, and atlanto‐acromialis are predominantly active during the swing phase, although variable and intermittent activity frequently occurs in the propulsive phase. Peak vertical forces engendered by the forelimbs are on the order of 57 % of body weight. During the propulsive phase the forelimb first exerts a braking and then a propulsive effect. Vectors representing vertical and longitudinal forces usually pass in front of the scapula during the initial part of the propulsive phase, through the scapula during mid‐propulsion, and behind the scapula by the end of propulsion. Transverse forces engendered by the forefeet are principally lateral. During mammalian evolution, scapular structure was altered by the addition of a supraspinous fossa, loss of the procoracoid, reduction of the coracoid, and reorientation of the glenoid fossa. The activity patterns of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and other muscles support the hypothesis that the mammalian shoulder evolved compensatory stabilizing mechanisms at the same time that it specialized for mobility.

The masticatory apparatus in the albino rat was studied by means of electromyography and subsequent estimation of muscular forces. The activity patterns of the trigeminal and suprahyoid musculature and the mandibular movements were recorded simultaneously during feeding. The relative forces of the individual muscles in the different stages of chewing cycles and biting were estimated on the basis of their physiological cross sections and their activity levels, as measured from integrated electromyograms. Workinglines and moment arms of these muscles were determined for different jaw positions. In the anteriorly directed masticatory grinding stroke the resultants of the muscle forces at each side are identical; they direct anteriorly, dorsally and slightly lingually and pass along the lateral side of the second molar. Almost the entire muscular resultant force is transmitted to the molars while the temporo-mandibular joint remains unloaded. A small transverse force, produced by the tense symphyseal cruciate ligaments balances the couple of muscle resultant and molar reaction force in the transverse plane. After each grinding stroke the mandible is repositioned for the next stroke by the overlapping actions of three muscle groups: the pterygoids and suprahyoids produce depression and forward shift, the suprahyoids and temporal backward shift and elevation of the mandible while the subsequent co-operation of the temporal and masseter causes final closure of the mouth and starting of the forward grinding movement. All muscles act in a bilaterally symmetrical fashion. The pterygoids contract more strongly, the masseter more weakly during biting than during chewing. The wide gape shifts the resultant of the muscle forces more vertically and moreposteriorly. The joint then becomes strongly loaded because the reaction forces are applied far anteriorly on the incisors. The charateristic angle between the almost horizontal biting force and the surface of the food pellet indicates that the lower incisors produce a chisel-like action. Tooth structure reflects chewing and biting forces. The transverse molar lamellae lie about parallel to the chewing forces whereas perpendicular loading of the occlusal surfaces is achieved by their inclination in the transverse plane. The incisors are loaded approximately parallel to their longitudinal axis, placement that avoids bending forces during biting. It is suggested that a predominantly protrusive musculature favors the effective force transmission to the lower incisors, required for gnawing. By grinding food across transversely oriented molar ridges the protrusive components of the muscles would be utilized best. From the relative weights of the masticatory muscles in their topographical relations with joints, molars and incisors it may be concluded that the masticatory apparatus is a construction adapted to optimal transmission of force from muscles to teeth.

The activity patterns of the masseter and the anterior temporal muscles were studied in twenty-one healthy male subjects while clenching at 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50% of the maximum clenching level. At low clenching levels the temporal muscle activity tended to dominate, at high levels the masseter muscle activity was stronger (P less than 0.001). The asymmetry in muscle activity also depended upon the clenching level (P less than 0.001), while at each level the masseter muscle asymmetry was greater than the temporal muscle asymmetry (P less than 0.05-P less than 0.025). By comparing the electromyographic activities of the left and right side within each subject it was found that the masseter muscle with the higher electromyographic activity tended to have the larger cross-sectional area (P less than 0.01) and at the 50% clenching level it tended to be on the side with the greater number of post-canine tooth contacts (P less than 0.001).

The pressure distribution under the bovine claw while walking was measured to test the hypotheses that the vertical ground reaction force is unevenly distributed and makes some (regions of the) claws more prone to injuries due to overloading than others. Each limb of nine recently trimmed Holstein Friesian cows was measured five times while walking over a Footscan pressure plate firmly embedded on a Kistler force plate. The pressure plate had a spatial resolution of 2.6 sensors/cm2 and was sampled simultaneously with the force plate with a temporal resolution of 250 measurements/s. Five moments during the stance phase were selected on basis of the force plate recording for the analysis of the pressure distribution: heel strike, maximum braking, midstance, maximum propulsion, and push off. At the forelimbs, the vertical ground reaction force was equally distributed between medial and lateral claw. At the hind limbs at heel strike, the force was exerted almost completely to the lateral claw. During the rest of the stance phase the load shifted towards the medial claw, until, at push off, it was more or less equally divided between both claws. The average pressures determined were 50 to 80 N/cm2. Maximum pressures increased from 90 to 110 N/cm2 at heel strike to 180 to 200 N/cm2 at push off. It was concluded that at the hind limb these pressures constitute a major threat to overloading particularly for the softer parts of the lateral claw, e.g., the sole and bulb area.

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Cross-sectional areas of the jaw muscles were determined by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 12 healthy adult male subjects. These findings were compared with the cross-sectional areas of the jaw muscles of the same subjects, obtained by means of computer tomography (CT) in a previous study (Weijs and Hillen, 1985). Significant correlations (r greater than 0.7) were found between the CT and MRI cross-sections of the masseter, medial pterygoid, and temporalis muscles. The low correlation between the CT and MRI cross-sections of the lateral pterygoid muscle could be explained by the different imaging techniques (slice thickness) of MRI and CT scanning. CT and MRI cross-sectional areas of the masseter and medial pterygoid muscle (but not the temporalis muscle) showed highly positive and significant correlations with the maximal voluntary bite force. In living subjects, the cross-sections of the masseter and medial pterygoid muscles can be visualized with CT and MRI. Compared with CT, MRI has some advantages, such as the absence of adverse effects (no radiation) and the excellent soft-tissue imaging. Furthermore, a series of frontal, horizontal, sagittal, and angulated MRI scans can be made without modification of the patient's position, facilitating reconstruction of the jaw muscles.