Post mortem aging of bovine skeletal muscle was found to result in loss of lysosomal integrity when assessed by biochemical and ultrastructural means. However, after aging to 14 days, the non-sedimentable beta-glucuronidase activity was only slightly higher than that at slaughter. Similarly, total non-sedimentable cathepsin D activity increased only slightly. Specific activity of cathepsin D increased, perhaps through proteolytic activation. Ultrastructural examination revealed that membrane integrity decreased substantially post mortem. These results suggest that a portion of the lysosome's enzyme content was released in response to normal aging and thus could participate in changes in meat texture post mortem.