The study of cardio physiology was broken up into five distinct parts all centering on the cardiovascular system. The first lab was utilization of the electrocardiogram (ECG). This studied the electrical activities of the heart by placing electrodes on different parts of the skin. This results in a graph on calibrated paper of these activities. These graphs are useful in the diagnosis of heart disease and heart abnormalities. Alongside natural heart abnormalities are those induced by chemical substances. The electrocardiogram is useful in showing how these chemicals adjust the electrical impulses that it induces. The second part of this lab was a computer simulation program to illustrate a frogs electrocardiogram using various drugs in an isolated setting. The computer program entitled Effects of Drugs on the Frog Heart allowed experimental conditions to be set for specific drugs. The different drugs used were calcium, digitalis, pilocarpine, atropine, potassium, epinephrine, caffeine, and nicotine. Each of these drugs caused a different electrocardiogram and beats per minute reading. The calcium-magnesium ration affects the permeability of the cell membrane(Fox). When calcium is placed directly on the heart it results in three physiological functions. The force of the heart increases while the cardiac rate decreases. It also causes the appearance of ectopic pacemakers in the ventricles, producing abnormal rhythms (Fox). Digitalis affect on the heart is very similar to that of calcium. It inhibits the sodium-potassium pump activated by ATP that promotes the uptake of extracellular calcium by the heart. This in return strengthens myocardial contraction (Springhouse). Pilocarpine on the other hand Cardiac Physiology 3acts to decrease the heart rate. It achieves this by assisting in the release of acetylcholine from the vagus nerve. Atropine on the other hand block acetylcholine receptors thus decreasing cardiac rat...
