A04 Frog Heart – Cardiac Rate & Contractility

This BSL PRO Lesson explains how to prepare the frog heart and describes the hardware and software setup necessary to record cardiac rate and contractile responses of the frog heart.

Experimental Objectives

  1. To observe and record atrial and ventricular behavior (systole and diastole) in the frog heart.
  2. To observe and record the cardiac phenomena of refraction, ventricular extrasystole, and the compensatory pause in the frog heart.
  3. To observe and record the effect of increasing and decreasing the temperature of cardiac muscle on cardiac rate and contractility.
  4. To observe and record the effects of acetylcholine, atropine, pilocarpine, and epinephrine on the frequency and amplitude of cardiac muscle contraction in the frog.
  5. To observe and record the positive inotropic effect of digitalis on the frog heart.
  6. Optional: To observe the property of myogenicity in the excised frog heart.
  7. Optional: To observe and record the effects of atrioventricular block induced by Stannius ligature in the frog heart.

Tasks Performed by the Student

  • Prepare the frog for recording from the heart
  • Test the frog heart’s reaction to hot, cold, acetylcholine atropine, pilocarpine, epinephrine, and digitalis
  • Optional: Tie a Stannius ligature and/or excise the frog heart

Videos

Biopac Student Lab Student Download

Student Prep & Distance Learning

Click the link(s) below for sample data and/or lesson procedure video(s), BSL PRO Lesson procedures (PDF) for human lessons*, and graph template files (*.gtl) for BSL PRO Lessons. If more than one .gtl is available, download the .gtl with the _suffix to match BSL version and hardware.

Lesson Hardware

This lesson requires a Biopac Student Lab (BSL) System and the following hardware. If your BSL System does not include all hardware items, expand your system by selecting required items below. For more details, review the Lesson: L# BSL Lessons - see the Lab Manual or launch BSL; A# and H# BSL PRO Lessons, click the PDF link above to review full setup, recording, and analysis procedures.

Item Name Cart
SS12LA Variable Force Transducer, BSL Add to Cart
Select Option Tension Adjusters Add to Cart

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