(Welsh School of Pharmacy)

Available in Windows and Web/Intranet Versions ISBN: 1 84211 035 7

Programmed by: R.G.Stevens and D. Lewis

Subject Specialist: R.D. Sewell

[Screenshot]
A screen from one of the activity modules.

Contents
1.A detailed description of the structure of the kidney and its blood supply, illustrated by a series of 3D pictures and animations.

2. A discussion of the processes of filtration and selective re-absorption, illustrated by a series of animations.

3. An introduction to oedema and its causes, and a consideration of the mechanism of action of the commonly used classes of diuretics.

Each part is followed by a self-evaluation test.

Each page deals with a fundamental description or concept, but provides information of increasing complexity presented as a sequence of layered windows. Each layer is revealed by clicking on hot text or diagrams in the current screen display. The program design provides the student with control over the depth of study. From 16 main pages a total of 140 individual screens will be accessed if the whole package is completed. The program has been designed to meet the needs of a wide range of Life Science teaching schemes.The first two parts, dealing with the kidney structure and function are appropriate to foundation or intermediate human biology and para-medical courses, depending upon the depth to which the material is explored. The oedema and diuretic section have been written for pharmacy and medical students. Many of the concepts associated with kidney structure and function are difficult to portray in words and still pictures. The program makes extensive use of animations to illustrate the transport mechanisms involved in selective re-absorption.

Hardware and Software Requirements

Windows Version
The package is supplied on a CD-ROM Installation Disc and can be installed to a local hard disc or network drive. The minimum requirement is a PC with 100MHz Pentium processor , 8Mb of RAM and a VGA monitor capable of displaying 16-bit color (65, 536 colors) at 640 x 480 resolution. The program is 32-bit and is compatible with Windows 95, 98 and NT.
Web Version
The package is supplied on a CD-ROM Installation Disc for installation to a web server. The software runs on PC clients only. The minimum requirement is a 200MHz Pentium processor with 32Mb of RAM and a Super VGA monitor capable of displaying 16-bit color (65,536 colors) at 800 x 600 resolution. The program is compatible with both Netscape Navigator 4.x and Internet Explorer 4 or better and requires Java and Javascript to be enabled on browsers.