Question

What would happen if a muscle is stimulated repeatedly at intervals not close enough to produce tetanus?

Answer 1

• A tetanic contraction can be either unfused (incomplete) or fused (complete).
• Unfused tetanus is when the muscle fibres do not completely relax before the next stimulus because they are being stimulated at a fast rate; however, there is a partial relaxation of the muscle fibres between the twitches.
• Short inter-stimulus intervals between consecutive stimulation may induce muscle fatigue. Hence, fatigue occurs if a muscle is stimulated repeatedly at intervals not close enough to produce tetanus.

So, the correct answer is 'fatigue'.