(Welsh School of Pharmacy)

Available in Windows and Web/Intranet Versions ISBN: 1 84211 031 4

Programmed by : David Lewis, Bob Stevens, Mandy Gilbert (Bath)
Subject Specialists : Bob Sewell, Ken Broadley

The package extends the work covered in the Guinea Pig Ileum package. The experimental section outlines the equipment and techniques used and explains the differences between the two tissues.

[Screenshot]
A Screen from the package
Contents

  1. Experimental Set-Up
  2. Autonomic Nervous System
  3. Adrenergic Receptors
  4. Cholinergic Receptors
  5. Purinergic Receptors
  6. Autocoid Receptors
  7. Effects of Agonists
  8. Antagonist Specificity
  9. Agonist/Antagonists Combinations

The package provides a brief, overall review of the activities of the autonomic nervous system and proceeds to consider its specific activity in the rabbit jejunum. The significance of using rabbit jejunum tissue in demonstrating the activities of the autonomic nervous system is explained. The classification and mechanism of action of the sympathetic and parasympathetic receptors together with other receptor types found in the jejunum, such as histamine, 5HT and adenosine is considered.

A range of suitable agonists and antagonists are provided which permit the student to construct dose response curves which demonstrate the relative affinity of adrenergic agonists for specific adrenoceptors. The use of specific agonists and antagonists to differentiate between muscarinic and nicotinic receptors is explored. The activities of histamine, 5 HT and adenosine in the jejunum are demonstrated together with their specific antagonists.


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.