Myology is defined as the science of growth, form, function, and diseases of muscles. While the term myology is fairly recent, the study of muscles dates back to the second century B.C. The Greek physician and anatomist Galen wrote extensively of his observations. During the Renaissance it was illegal to dissect cadavers, but artists continued this practice and brought highly accurate drawings of muscles to physicians. In the seventeenth century, the ways in which muscles contract and move the body was finally understood. In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, many researchers learned how muscles metabolize during muscle contraction, how much oxygen they use, and the process of lactic acid production. At the end of the nineteenth century, the role of ATP in muscle was discovered and the discipline has continued ever since.

Muscle pathology (disease) was first described by Duchenne in 1849. Many additional studies poured into the journals of muscle research immediately following. During the first half of the twentieth century, the molecular biology of all systems made tremendous advances, especially in myology. A major turning point was reached in 1987, when the gene for Duchenne muscular dystrophy was located. This has sped research and contributed greatly to the understanding of the inheritance of genetic muscle disorders.

Today, a considerable amount of research is benefiting from technological advances in molecular biology. Muscle proteins and genetic mutations are being studies as never before. It is hoped that someday scientists and medical researchers will be able to regenerate lost limbs. One of the important aspects of this type of research is to get new muscles to grow and function. Myology has never been as important as it is today. The future will reveal even more information in this interesting field of research.