Three-dimensional surface geometries of the rabbit soleus muscle during contraction: input for biomechanical modelling and its validation.

There exists several numerical approaches to describe the active contractile behaviour of skeletal muscles. These models range from simple one-dimensional to more advanced three-dimensional ones; especially, three-dimensional models take up the cause of describing complex contraction modes in a realistic way. However, the validation of such concepts is challenging, as the combination of geometry, material and force characteristics is so far not available from the same muscle.