Amphibian Heart Lab

Over the years, biologists have carried out experiments to explore the differences in animal hearts. With regards to this experiment at hand, the differences were explored between mammalian and amphibian hearts. This experiment also helps us determine the effects of external, biological factors and pharmacological substances on the contraction of the heart. The following will serve as an overview of the structure and functioning of amphibian heart. A frog heart has three chambers (two atria and a single ventricle). The truncus arteriosus is a medium which allows blood to leave the heart from the ventricle to the branches. Aortic arches, left and right of the heart, conjoin in the middle of the heart. The aortic arches function to circulate the blood to the lungs and essentially, the skin to effect …show more content…
The heart will be stimulated with different factors and the ECG will detect and display their effects of the stimuli. The ECG will record and assess the changes they have on the heart contraction, the following drugs will be explored- acetylcholine, epinephrine, pilocarpine and atropine. For example, acetylcholine reduces cardiac activity, this means that the contractions are decrease together in force. Essentially, these drugs are either sympathomimetic or para-sympathomimetic drugs. Sympathomimetic drugs mimic the sympathetic nerve stimulation, which in turn increases the heart rate and force of the contraction. Whereas, a para-sympathomimetic drug stimulates the parasympathetic nerve. This decreases the heart rate and force of the contraction. Moreover, there are other factors influencing the heart contraction rate and force. For example, temperature, there is direct relationship between these two. An increase in temperature stimulates an increase in contractions and rate, and the opposite apply vice