| An interactive, menu driven and easy to use program which simulates
experiments performed on the sciatic nerve-anterior tibialis muscle
preparation of the cat (in vivo) to illustrate the important differences
in the pharmacological action of depolarizing and non-depolarizing
blocking agents.
An on-screen student handbook covers:
- an outline, using text and graphics of the process of neuromuscular
transmission
- the preparation of the anaesthetised cat, the protocol for sciatic
nerve stimulation and isometric recording of evoked contractions
of the anterior tibialis muscle.
- A summary of the actions of the different types of blocking agents
- the clinical relevance of the different blocking agents.
The Experiments Section presents high-resolution graphic simulations
of experimental results (muscle contractions), in accelerated time,
on a scrolling display to simulate a chart recorder.
(i) Phase I experiments - each experiment compares the action of
the two types of neuromuscular blocking agent using d-tubocurarine
as an example of a non-depolarizing blocker and decamethonium as
an example of a depolarizing blocker.
- administered i.v.
- administered close arterially
- in conjunction with an anticholinesterase
- in conjunction with a different competitive (non-depolarizing)
blocker
- in conjunction with a different depolarizing blocker
- in response to tetanic stimulation
- in response to acetylcholine administered by close arterial injection.
(ii) Phase II experiments
- the effects of four successive doses of decamethonium followed
by the effects of tetanic stimulation and an anticholinesterase
Student Activities
Each experiment has an associated student activity designed to
assess understanding of the experimental results. These might be
a series of true/false statements or a table to complete.There are
also some suggested questions which would form the basis of a report
of the experiment.
Target audience: Undergraduate pharmacology, medical, bioscience
and pharmacy students. |