The use of electronic instrumentation to monitor physiological function in conscious research animals and humans has become routine. Beyond basic research, animal studies using these methods are required by government regulatory agencies worldwide before human testing of potential new drugs. Living, as we do, in an age of miniaturized high-tech…

The cause-effect relationship between lactic acid, acidosis, and muscle fatigue has been established in the literature. However, current experiments contradict this premise. Here, we describe an experiment developed by first-year university students planned to answer the following questions: 1) Which metabolic pathways of energy metabolism are…

The medicinal leech is a useful animal model for investigating undulatory swimming in the classroom. Unlike many swimming organisms, its swimming performance can be quantified without specialized equipment. A large blood meal alters swimming behavior in a way that can be used to generate a discussion of the hydrodynamics of swimming, muscle…

Student researchers in physiology courses often interact with human subjects in classroom research but may be unfamiliar with the professional ethics of experimenter-subject interactions. This communication describes experiences related to an interactive video used in exercise science and general biology courses to help students become aware of,…

This article describes a simple whole cell formation technique that the author invented in teaching and experiments. The implementation of the invented technique is a syringe with a hole and slot. With the newly invented technique, novices will shorten their learning curve and veterans will increase their success rate. The invented technique…

The major challenge in laboratory teaching is the application of abstract concepts in simple and direct practical lessons. However, students rarely have the opportunity to participate in a laboratory that combines practical learning with a realistic research experience. In the Bioengineering Department, we started an experiential laboratory…

Teaching high school students about the digestive system can be a challenge for a teacher when s/he wants to overcome rote learning of facts without a deeper understanding of the physiological processes inside the alimentary tract. A series of model experiments illustrating the journey of a sandwich was introduced into teaching high school…

The immune system is a vital physiological component that affords animals protection from disease and is composed of innate and adaptive mechanisms that rely on cellular and dissolved components. The serum complement system is a series of dissolved proteins that protect against a variety of pathogens. The activity of complement in serum can be…

A single examination does not fulfill all the functions of assessment. The present study was undertaken to determine the reliability and student satisfaction regarding the objective structured practical examination (OSPE) as a method of assessment of laboratory exercises in physiology before implementing it in the forthcoming university…

It is common to see chapters on acid-base physiology state that the goal of acid-base regulatory mechanisms is to maintain the pH of arterial plasma and not arterial PCO [subscript 2] (Pa[subscript CO[subscript 2]]) or plasma HCO[subscript 3]. A hypothetical situation in which the (Pa[subscript CO[subscript 2]]) of arterial plasma is 80 mmHg and…

In a recent influential report by the National Research Council, the role of the laboratory was introduced as follows: "Science courses and the laboratories associated with them should cultivate the ability of students to think independently. They should provide students with exposure to realistic scientific questions and highlight those aspects…

It is challenging for biomedical engineering programs to incorporate an indepth study of the systemic interdependence of cells, tissues, and organs into the rigorous mathematical curriculum that is the cornerstone of engineering education. To be sure, many biomedical engineering programs require their students to enroll in anatomy and physiology…

Live organisms versus digital video of the organisms were used to challenge students' naive ideas and misconceptions about blood, the heart, and circulatory patterns. Three faculty members taught 259 grade 10 biology students in a California high school with students from diverse ethnolinguistic groups who were divided into 5 classes using…

Here, we describe a laboratory experiment as part of an upper-level vertebrate physiology course for biology majors to investigate the physiological response of vertebrates to osmoregulatory challenges. The experiment involves measuring plasma osmolality and Na[superscript +] -K[superscript +] -ATPase activity in gill tissue of teleost fish…

The strong-inference protocol puts into action the important concepts in Platt's often-assigned, classic paper on the strong-inference method (10). Yet, perhaps because students are frequently performing experiments with known outcomes, the protocols they write as undergraduates are usually little more than step-by-step instructions for performing…