Respiration Lab Essay

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The Respiratory system labs Experiment A: The Form of The Action Potential Question Answers 1. The function of the trigger lead as seen in the diagram is to record and transmit the stimulus to the oscilloscope so that it might be compared with the value recorded and amplified by the AC amplifier; this would allow the observer to deduce the relationship between the stimulus and the action potentials along the nerve. 2. A compound nerve action potential is the sum of the electrical activity in a nerve trunk that results from the excitation of a variable number of nerves with the trunk itself. Such an action potential is derived from the fact that within the trunk, there are multiple types of nerves that possess varying threshold voltages and hence are sensitive to varying degrees of stimulation. Consequently, at given stimulus strengths, varying numbers of fibres within the trunk will produce an action potential. 3. The recording of the compound nerve action potential is biphasic due to the presence of two recording electrodes, placed at different points along the nerve trunk that possess opposite polarities. 4. A monophasic action potential is achieved when an only a single electrode is placed at a point along the fibre to record the action potential. Crushing the nerve between the two recording electrodes would result in a value being recorded from only one of the electrodes – the first one- as the action potential would not be able to pass the forceps to be recorded, effectively creating a monophasic potential. Experiment B: Stimulus strength – Response Curve Table of Results Stimulus (V) Amplitude (mV) 1.0 0 1.1 49 1.2 86 1.3 154 1.5 432 1.75 695 2.0 914 3.0 1229 5.0 1350 1350 According to the graph above, the amplitude of the response observed in the nerve, the response is directly proportional to stimulus up until it reaches a strength

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