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Muscle Force

The extensor muscle is very strong. One reason for its strength is simply its size. In the photograph below, the cuticle on one side of the leg has been removed to show the muscles underneath. The extensor muscle (red outline) occupies most of the volume of the femur, while the flexor muscle (blue outline) is just a thin sheet of muscle lying along the bottom of the femur.

You can check/uncheck the boxes to show/hide the muscle outlines.

Another reason is its anatomy. The extensor muscle has a pennate structure. This can be seen in the "herrring bone" arrangement of the muscle blocks when the femur is viewed from above.

The top of the femur has been removed to show the underlying extensor muscle blocks. The cross-section of one block is indicated by the oblique red line. The muscle origin is the inner surface of the side of the leg (at the top and bottom) and its insertion is on the extensor tendon, indicated by the horizontal red line.

The strength of any muscle is proportional to its cross-sectional area. The pennate arrangement means that a greater cross-sectional area of muscle can be packed into the femur than would otherwise be possible.

Amazing fact. The extensor muscle from the back leg of an adult female locust (Schistocerca gregaria) can develop a force of up to 1.4 kg. This means that the muscle from one back leg of a grasshopper (admitedly quite a large one) can lift almost a bag-and-a-half of supermarket sugar!

HOWEVER, force is only half the story. The force has to be applied at high speed as well. And therein lies the problem...


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