Participants

The cadavers used in the current study had been cryopreserved. Cryopreservation seeks to slowly reach low temperatures (−18°C) without causing concomitant cell rupture and tissue damage, which may occur if ice crystals are formed in the cells during freezing. Prior to the assessments in the study the cadavers were slowly thawed, the muscles now resembling live muscle in texture.

This cross-sectional study included 10 cryopreserved upper (4 right and 1 left) and lower (3 right and 2 left) limbs of 10 cadavers (5 women and 5 men, aged 68–91 years) without evident pathological findings such as previous injury or surgery. Each specimen was accurately labelled with references to the side, age and sex of the donor. All participants had voluntarily donated their bodies for teaching and research purposes to the donator dissection room of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.