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ERIC Number: EJ1064215
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Jun
Pages: 5
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1043-4046
EISSN: N/A
Investigation of Blood Flow and the Effect of Vasoactive Substances in Cutaneous Blood Vessels of "Xenopus Laevis"
Škorjanc, Aleš; Belušic, Gregor
Advances in Physiology Education, v39 n2 p91-95 Jun 2015
In the present study, a preparation of frog skin was presented, which can be used to demonstrate the basic concepts of blood flow regulation in a very clear and attractive way to high school and university students. In a freshly euthanized "Xenopus," a patch of abdominal skin was exposed from the internal side and viewed with a USB microscope while it remained connected to a functioning circulatory system. In this way, it was possible to obtain sharp images of arteries and veins and to visualize blood flow. This allows students to learn about the functional differences between arteries and veins and about the complexity of hemodynamics as well as the particularities of the amphibian pulmocutaneous circulation. Students can then quantitatively estimate the effect of norepinephrine and epinephrine on the diameter of blood vessels by simply superfusing the skin patch with a series of solutions of the two substances. They can also test the effect of a-adrenergic receptor blockers, used to treat high blood pressure, on the norepinephrine-induced muscle tonus of blood vessels.
American Physiological Society. 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3991. Tel: 301-634-7164; Fax: 301-634-7241; e-mail: webmaster@the-aps.org; Web site: http://advan.physiology.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A