Early designs of the myograph.

Abstract

A surge in quantitative muscle physiology began with the mid-nineteenth century introduction of a new instrument capable of measuring contraction events with millisecond resolution. This strictly mechanical device, called a "myograph" by its designer Hermann von Helmholtz, was based on existing technology but included several important innovations that made it suitable for recording accurately the high speed events of muscle contraction. A variety of different myograph designs, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, ultimately came into existence and populated muscle physiology laboratories into the twentieth century.