You and Your Lab Partner Use a Living Nerve and Muscle

question 49

Essay

You and your lab partner use a living nerve and muscle preparation to study muscle contraction.When you stimulate the nerve electrically, the muscle contracts; why? When you turn off the stimulator but add a high concentration of caffeine to the fluid surrounding the tissues, the muscle contracts; why (speculate on possible sites/mechanisms of action)? When curare (which blocks neuromuscular transmission)is added with caffeine, contraction occurs; why (speculate, and how does this alter your previous answer)? Can you identify a single site of action from this information? If not, what additional experiment would narrow your choices?

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Definitions:

Social Security System

A government program designed to provide financial support to individuals during retirement, disability, or unemployment.

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

A federal law that sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established pension and health plans in private industry to provide protection for individuals in these plans.

Mandated Benefit

Benefits that employers are required by law to provide to their employees, such as social security, unemployment, and workers' compensation.

Workers' Compensation

An insurance type that offers medical benefits and compensates for lost wages to workers hurt while performing their job duties.