REVIEW HANDBOOK OF PHYSIOLOGY: SECTION 7: ENDOCRINOLOGY, Vol. vii PARATHYROID GLAND. Volume Edited byGerald D. Aurback, American Physiological Society, Washington, D.C., 1976. Pp. vii+480. $55.00

To examine the pathophysiology of the age-related rise in the plasma concentration of parathyroid hormone (PTH), we studied the relationships among plasma immunoreactive PTH (iPTH), parathyroid gland volume, parathyroid cell proliferation rate, renal function, and blood Ca2+ in male Fischer 344 rats aged 6–28 mo. Plasma iPTH increased 2.5-fold between 6 and 28 mo and correlated with parathyroid gland volume ( r = 0.87). Gland volume began to increase as early as 6–12 mo of age and by 28 mo was threefold greater than at 6 mo. Gland expansion was a consequence of hyperplasia stimulated in part by an increase in cell proliferative activity late in life. Blood Ca2+ and plasma inorganic phosphorus did not change significantly with age. Glomerular filtration rate decreased with age but only after the age of 24 mo. Unlike what has been observed in the human, these data suggest that the age-related increase in plasma iPTH in the rat is linked to parathyroid gland hyperplasia and that early gland growth does not appear to be associated with hypocalcemia or renal insufficiency, but rather to developmentally related metabolic changes. Later in life (>24 mo), the increase in parathyroid cell proliferation rate, further hyperplastic expansion of the gland, and increase in iPTH secretion appear to be associated with renal insufficiency.

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Is formative assessment an effective way to improve learning? A symposium at Experimental Biology 2008

AJP Advances in Physiology Education ◽

10.1152/advan.90175.2008 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 337-338 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

William Cliff ◽

Scott Freeman ◽

Penelope A. Hansen ◽

Jonathan D. Kibble ◽

Mary Peat ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Formative Assessment ◽

Summative Assessment ◽

Experimental Biology ◽

American Physiological Society ◽

Physiology Section

Formative assessment is designed to provide information about students' learning to help them and their teachers to identify deficiencies and misconceptions. It differs from summative assessment, which aims to rank students according to their achievements to determine which students pass or fail or to assign grades to students. This article reports on a symposium concerned with evidence for the effectiveness of formative assessment in improving learning. It was presented by the Teaching of Physiology Section of the American Physiological Society at the Experimental Biology Meeting of 2008.

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Isolated muscle cells as a physiological model

AJP Cell Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpcell.1987.253.3.c349 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 253 (3) ◽

pp. C349-C363 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

M. Lieberman ◽

S. D. Hauschka ◽

Z. W. Hall ◽

B. R. Eisenberg ◽

R. Horn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Technologies ◽

Muscle Cells ◽

Physiological Model ◽

Muscle Group ◽

Biophysical Properties ◽

American Physiological Society ◽

Isolated Cells ◽

Cell Purification ◽

Physiological Properties ◽

Physiology Section

Summary of a symposium presented by the American Physiological Society (Cell and General Physiology Section and Muscle Group) at the 70th Annual Meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, St. Louis, Missouri, April 15, 1986, chaired by M. Lieberman and F. Fay. This symposium reflects a growing interest in seeking new technologies to study the basic physiological and biophysical properties of cardiac, smooth, and skeletal muscle cells. Recognizing that technical and analytical problems associated with multicellular preparations limit the physiological significance of many experiments, investigators have increasingly focused on efforts to isolate single, functional embryonic, and adult muscle cells. Progress in obtaining physiologically relevant preparations has been both rapid and significant even though problems regarding cell purification and viability are not fully resolved. The symposium draws attention to a broad, though incomplete, range of studies using isolated or cultured muscle cells. Based on the following reports, investigators should be convinced that a variety of experiments can be designed with preparations of isolated cells and those in tissue culture to resolve questions about fundamental physiological properties of muscle cells.

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