Rheobase, Chronaxy

We can express the irritability of tissues using quantities called rheobase and chronaxy. It belongs to the important characteristics of exciting membrane. They make it possible to determine the relationship between the intensity and the duration of the stimulus that produces action potential.

• Rheobase - the minimum required stimulus intensity induced by rectangular current pulses exerting the maximum useful time that will induce an AP.
• Chronaxia - the duration of the stimulus required to excite, for example, a muscle with a current twice the intensity of the rheobase.

Graphic representation of rheobase and chronaxy

References

Articles

• Potential

Source

• BENEŠ, Jiří – STRÁNSKÝ, Pravoslav – VÍTEK, František. Základy lékařské biofyziky. 2. edition. Karolinum, 2007. ISBN 978-80-246-1386-4.