← Explore

THE EFFECT OF HIGH FREQUENCY SOUND WAVES ON HEART MUSCLE AND OTHER IRRITABLE TISSUES

E. Newton Harvey

American Journal of Physiology-Legacy Content 1929 · 10.1152/ajplegacy.1929.91.1.284

ex vivo tissuehealthyother
Speciesturtle (Chrysemys picta and Pseudemys rubriventris), bull-frog, and grass frog
Subjectsnot reported preparations
Sessions per subjectnot applicable
Randomisednot applicable
Blindingnot applicable
Sham / controlnone
Auditory controlnot reported
Readout timingboth
Anaesthesianot applicable
Readoutsothermechanical (kymograph) recording of heart rate, contraction amplitude and tone; graphic recording of skeletal/smooth-muscle twitches; comparison with electrical stimulation.
Direction of effectexcitatoryHigh-intensity 340 kHz sound waves caused rhythmic contraction of quiescent turtle/frog ventricle and a faster, lower-amplitude auricular rhythm; weak sub-minimal twitching was also produced in nerve-containing skeletal muscle (abolished by curarization) and some contraction in smooth muscle, both much weaker than the cardiac effect.
Adverse eventsnot applicable

Exposures

Exposure 1: Turtle and frog heart (auricle and quiescent ventricle) immersed in Ringer's solution

Target: other — “heart muscle (auricle and ventricle) of turtle and frog
Device: custom-built

Pulse timing
Waveformcontinuous
Fundamental frequency (kHz)340✓✓
Pulse duration (ms)not applicable
Pulse repetition frequency (Hz)not applicable
Duty cycle (%)not applicable
Sonication duration (s)not reported
Pressure and intensity, by domain
Free-field pressure (kPa)2,027✓✓
Free-field Isppa (W/cm²)not reported
Free-field Ispta (W/cm²)not reported
In-situ estimatenot applicable
In-situ pressure (kPa)not applicable
In-situ Isppa (W/cm²)not applicable
In-situ Ispta (W/cm²)not applicable
Protocol, in the paper’s words

A 2 kilowatt oscillator drove a quartz crystal tuned to 340 kc, transmitting the vibration via oil to a Ringer's-solution bath containing the preparation; a rheostat controlled intensity by varying the crystal voltage, but the paper states that quantitative intensity values cannot be given because they depend on many uncontrollable factors. Exposure was applied and removed by hand while the preparation's response was recorded on a kymograph.

Exposure 2: Frog sciatic nerve/gastrocnemius muscle and turtle neck/leg muscle immersed in Ringer's solution

Target: sciatic nerve — “sciatic nerve and gastrocnemius muscle (frog); neck and leg skeletal muscle (turtle)
Device: custom-built

Pulse timing
Waveformcontinuous
Fundamental frequency (kHz)340✓✓
Pulse duration (ms)not applicable
Pulse repetition frequency (Hz)not applicable
Duty cycle (%)not applicable
Sonication duration (s)not reported
Pressure and intensity, by domain
Free-field pressure (kPa)2,027✓✓
Free-field Isppa (W/cm²)not reported
Free-field Ispta (W/cm²)not reported
In-situ estimatenot applicable
In-situ pressure (kPa)not applicable
In-situ Isppa (W/cm²)not applicable
In-situ Ispta (W/cm²)not applicable
Protocol, in the paper’s words

A 2 kilowatt oscillator drove a quartz crystal tuned to 340 kc, transmitting the vibration via oil to a Ringer's-solution bath containing the preparation; a rheostat controlled intensity by varying the crystal voltage, but the paper states that quantitative intensity values cannot be given because they depend on many uncontrollable factors. Exposure was applied and removed by hand while the preparation's response was recorded on a kymograph.

Exposure 3: Smooth muscle of frog stomach and turtle intestine immersed in Ringer's solution

Target: other — “smooth muscle of stomach (frog) and intestine (turtle)
Device: custom-built

Pulse timing
Waveformcontinuous
Fundamental frequency (kHz)340✓✓
Pulse duration (ms)not applicable
Pulse repetition frequency (Hz)not applicable
Duty cycle (%)not applicable
Sonication duration (s)not reported
Pressure and intensity, by domain
Free-field pressure (kPa)2,027✓✓
Free-field Isppa (W/cm²)not reported
Free-field Ispta (W/cm²)not reported
In-situ estimatenot applicable
In-situ pressure (kPa)not applicable
In-situ Isppa (W/cm²)not applicable
In-situ Ispta (W/cm²)not applicable
Protocol, in the paper’s words

A 2 kilowatt oscillator drove a quartz crystal tuned to 340 kc, transmitting the vibration via oil to a Ringer's-solution bath containing the preparation; a rheostat controlled intensity by varying the crystal voltage, but the paper states that quantitative intensity values cannot be given because they depend on many uncontrollable factors. Exposure was applied and removed by hand while the preparation's response was recorded on a kymograph.

Flags from extraction

  • exposures[0].unspecified_domain.pressure_kpaValue converted from the paper's order-of-magnitude estimate ('+20 to -20 atmospheres') for the fluid carrying the most intense waves used anywhere in the study; not a value measured or specified for this particular tissue, and the domain (Ringer's solution coupled via oil/glass/brass) is not explicitly free-field or in-situ.
  • exposures[1].unspecified_domain.pressure_kpaValue converted from the paper's order-of-magnitude estimate ('+20 to -20 atmospheres') for the fluid carrying the most intense waves used anywhere in the study; not a value measured or specified for this particular tissue, and the domain (Ringer's solution coupled via oil/glass/brass) is not explicitly free-field or in-situ.
  • exposures[2].unspecified_domain.pressure_kpaValue converted from the paper's order-of-magnitude estimate ('+20 to -20 atmospheres') for the fluid carrying the most intense waves used anywhere in the study; not a value measured or specified for this particular tissue, and the domain (Ringer's solution coupled via oil/glass/brass) is not explicitly free-field or in-situ.
  • n_subjectsPaper states 'eight hearts in all investigated' for the cardiac experiments but gives no aggregate subject count across the separate nerve/muscle and smooth-muscle experiments (including one curarized frog), so a total is not reported.
  • subject_unitPreparations mix excised hearts, excised/immersed nerve-muscle preparations, and one intact curarized frog leg; 'preparation' is used as an approximation.
  • exposures[1].target.termsPaper attributes the (weak) twitching response to the nerve rather than the muscle (curarization abolished it), but the preparation is the sciatic-nerve-innervated gastrocnemius muscle as a whole; also includes turtle neck/leg muscle tested the same way.