Ultrastructural heterogeneity of the mesocoxal muscles of Periplaneta americana

Summary Ultrastructural studies have been performed upon the posterior coxal depressor muscle (136) and a coxal branch of the main depressor group (135d) from the mesocoxa of the cockroach, Periplaneta americana. The quantitative stereometric analyses performed have shown the latter muscle to consist of a dorsal band of fibers having 25.5% mitochondria and 13.6% sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and T-tubules (TTS), and a ventral group of fibers with only 4.4% mitochondria and 26.6% SR/TTS. The volume fractions characteristic of the ventral fibers of muscle 135 d are also typical of muscle 136.This work was supported by a grant from the McCandless Foundation, Atlanta, Georgia, to D.R. Stokes