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ABSTRACT The nature of the mechanism which initiates and propagates transverse bending waves along the length of a flagellum has been the subject of discussion for many years. Two possible mechanisms have been advocated: (i) that the flagellum is a passive elastic filament set in motion by an active process located at its proximal end, the propagation of the wave along the filament being the result of its elastic properties; (ii) that actively contractile elements exist along the length of the flagellum. The latter view has received the greatest support, but no definite proof appears to have been established.
K. E. Machin (Mon,) studied this question.