The crush model of injury in skeletal muscle is widely used in
the
investigation of tissue degeneration and
regeneration. Previously, such trauma has been induced by using forceps
to crush
the muscle, commonly
applying sufficient pressure to bring the mid-arms of the forceps together.
This
report introduces a reliable
electromechanical device designed to generate reproducible focal lesions
in
skeletal muscle of mice. The
tibialis anterior was crushed in 17 young adult mice. Two days after injury,
the
muscles were examined
microscopically. By morphometric analysis, it was determined that the volumes
of
the lesions produced were similar (mean 0.499 mm3±0.098,
range
0.278−0.601 mm3), and that the full extent of the damaged
muscle was easily distinguished and readily quantifiable. This will allow
a more
precise comparison in future
investigations into regenerative differences between age groups, satellite
cell
activation and the inflammatory response.