Muscle architecture for pennate muscles. Pennate muscles can be further divided into uni-, bi- or multipennate. Unipennate muscles are those where the muscle fibers are oriented at one fiber angle to the force-generating axis and are all on the same side of a tendon. The pennation angle in unipennate muscles has been measured at a variety of resting length and typically varies from 0° to 30°. The lateral gastrocnemius of wild turkeys is an example of this muscle architecture. Muscles that have fibers on two sides of a tendon are considered bipennate. The stapedius in the middle ear of humans, as well
Muscle architecture muscles have broad attachments compared to other muscle types and can shorten to about 40%-60% of their resting length. Strap muscles, such as the laryngeal muscles, have been thought to control the fundamental frequency used in speech production, as well as singing. Another example of this muscle is the longest muscle in the human body, the sartorius. Fusiform muscles are wider and cylindrically shaped in the center and taper off at the ends. This overall shape of fusiform muscles is often referred to as a spindle. The line of action in this muscle type runs in a straight line between