During rapid stimulation, when a second contraction occurs before the first has completed relaxation, this is called?

During rapid stimulation, when a second contraction occurs before the first has completed relaxation, this is called?

• A. Wave/Temporal summation
• B. Treppe
• C. Incomplete tetanus
• D. Fused (complete) tetanus

Answer: (A)

Temporal (wave) summation is the idea that rapid stimulation produces a stronger contraction because the second twitch begins before the first has fully relaxed. When stimuli come in quick succession, calcium is still present in the muscle fibers and the next cross-bridge cycling can start sooner, so the contractions overlap and add up, boosting overall tension. As stimulation frequency increases, you can progress from this overlapping twitches toward incomplete tetanus (some relaxation between stimuli) and then complete tetanus (no relaxation).

Temporal (wave) summation is the idea that rapid stimulation produces a stronger contraction because the second twitch begins before the first has fully relaxed. When stimuli come in quick succession, calcium is still present in the muscle fibers and the next cross-bridge cycling can start sooner, so the contractions overlap and add up, boosting overall tension. As stimulation frequency increases, you can progress from this overlapping twitches toward incomplete tetanus (some relaxation between stimuli) and then complete tetanus (no relaxation).