“…One particular effect that has been extensively evaluated is how freezing impacts the microscopic or ultrastructure of muscle tissue (Carroll et al, 1981;Cook, Love, Vickery, & Young, 1926;Gruji c et al, 1993;Luyet, 1964;Ngapo, Babare, Reynolds, & Mawson, 1999;Raheli c, Puac ˇ, & Gawwad, 1985). The formation of ice crystals disrupts the microscopic structure and arrangement of the muscle fibers (Birdseye, 1929;Mills, 1975;Scott & Aquino-Shuster, 1989); as noted by Birdseye (1929), frozen muscle fibers appeared swollen and closely packed but unevenly distributed throughout the tissue. The author suggested that the spaces between the clusters of closely packed muscle fibers were the result of the disintegration of the connective tissue between them (Birdseye, 1929).…”