ÐÂÏã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û

This is a largely practical module, which aims to develop experimental skills. In addition to a wide range of in vitro experiments and studies of drug action in humans, the module includes student presentations, sessions to develop computer skills and also visits to research laboratories.

On completion of the module, students will be able to:

• Conduct simple experiments on in vitro preparations and present their findings in a written account,
• Understand how tissue preparations can be selected to examine particular physiological systems
• Understand the use of animals in medical research from the standpoint of animal welfare and ethics. Set-up tissue preparations and use transducers and computers to measure tension or length changes in smooth muscle preparations.
• Understand the experimental conditions required to maintain tissues in vitro and of the requirements to achieve stimulation of nerves using pulse generators.
• Perform dilutions of stock drug solutions and calculate appropriate volumes to add to organ baths to achieve the desired final concentrations.
• Follow experimental protocols accurately to generate reproducible results
• Quantify results and present them clearly in graphical form.
• Present topics to their peers

There are no additional costs for this module – you will be provided with a lab coat and all the necessary laboratory equipment and consumables.

Indicative practical list:

Practical 1: Concentration-Response Curves Practical

Practical 2: Drug Antagonism Practical

Practical 3: Daphnia Practical

Practical 4: Tachykinin Practical

Practical 5: Cutaneous Blood Flow Practical

Practical 6: Stimulated Ileum Practical

Practical 7: Calcium Channel Blockers Practical

Practical 8: Partition Coefficient and pKa for Sulphonamides Practical

Practical 9: In vitro anaphylaxis Practical

Practical 10: Project (4 sessions)

Follow-up tutorials will be held after each practical as well as on curve-fitting Report writing, literature searching and ethics.