EXTRACELLULAR POTENTIALS FROM SKELETAL-MUSCLE

A mathematical model for the calculation of volume-conducted field potentials from active skeletal muscle fibers in an anisotropic extracellular medium is developed, based on the principles of electromagnetic field theory. The model is shown to be useful in the prediction of surface electromyographic (EMG) waveforms due to the activity of bioelectric sources lying within the anisotropic muscle medium that constitutes the volume conductor. Thus this field theoretic model represents a first approximation to the study of multifiber activity and its contribution to the surface EMG.