Fibre Types in Skeletal Muscles

This is a concise summary of knowledge about skeletal muscle fibres. The fibre types are characterized from different points of view. The difficulties and possibilities of classifying muscle fibres in distinct non-overlapping types are shown. A main emphasis is put on metabolic fibre typing by cytophotometry as well as the adaptability of a given fibre type to altered physiological and pathological conditions. Extensive analyses of several rat hindlimb muscles revealed regional differences of fibre properties within the muscles and showed the influence of ageing, myopathy, hypoxia, diabetes and Ginkgo biloba-treatment on the different fibre types.