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Gravity, Body Mass and Composition, and Metabolic RateMetabolic rate and body composition as a function of sex and age were defined in 5 species of common laboratory mammals, the mouse, hamster, rat, guinea pig and rabbit. Oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production rates were measured individually in 6 male and 6 female animals for each of 8 age cohorts ranging from 1 month to 2 years, and for each of the species. From the results it is evident that among these small mammals there is no indication of scaling of muscularity to body size, despite the 100-fold difference in body mass represented by the skeletal musculature seems to reach a pronounced peak value at age 2 to 3 months and then declines, the fraction of the fat-free body represented by other body components in older animals must increase complementarily. Under normal gravity conditions muscularity in small laboratory mammals displays large, systematic variation as a function both of species and age. This variation must be considered when such animals are subjects of experiments to study the effects of altered gravitational loading on the skeletal musculature of the mammal.
Document ID
19850017773
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Pace, N.
(California Univ. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Smith, A. H.
(California Univ. Davis, United States)
Date Acquired
August 12, 2013
Publication Date
April 1, 1985
Publication Information
Publication: NASA. Washington NASA Space Biol. Program:
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Accession Number
85N26084
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSG-7336
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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