Title: Experiments on Renal Function in Humans

Publisher: Sheffield Bioscience Programs

Author: David Dewhurst, John Atherton, Yusuf Bulbulia & Imran Shafiq

Distributor: Sheffield Bioscience Programs, 5 Woodlands Green, Harrogate HG2 8QD

e-mail: d.dewhurst@ed.ac.uk

Software Type: Tutorial and Simulation

Subject Area: Renal Physiology/Medicine

Intended Audience: Medical and Physiology Students

Cost: £199

Hardware Spec: PC with hard disc running Win3.1 or better;

256 colour VGA monitor, Mouse

Licence Details: Mulituser/departmental licence

Demo Available: No demo, but available on 30-day approval

Documentation: Brief Installation and User Guide

Update frequency: No updates planned

The main objective of the program 'Experiments on Renal Function in Humans' are to demonstrate

• the effects of water loading on urine flow and urine and plasma electrolytes
• the effects of 4 diuretics (Acetazolamide, Amiloride, Hydrochlorthiazide and Bumetanide) on urine flow and urine and plasma electrolytes, real data is provided in graphic form from healthy male subjects by providing real data from actual subjects which the student can then work on. For each experiment, data are presented graphically for plasma electrolyte and creatinine concentrations and plasma osmolality and also for urine electrolytes, creatinine output, total solute output and urine osmolality and flow.

One set of graphs shows data from water loaded subjects onto which control data may be superimposed. The other sets of graphs show data from diuretic subjects onto which water loaded data may be superimposed for comparison.

The program is easy to load from 3 floppy discs and installs itself. It is very simple to use and is certainly a far easier way of obtaining data than trying to organise a group of students to take part in an original experiment. However, despite its ease of use, I found the program a little frustrating in that you need to frequently switch from screen to screen, or from graph to graph. I felt that it would have been useful to be able to print graphs off for comparison and for answering questions, but there are no printing facilities.

Several interactive questions accompany each graph, with a useful 'help' button giving formulae and hints. The questions are a useful way of gaining insight into what is happening during the experiments.

The documentation is brief but adequate, though I think that a little more background information would have been helpful and would add to the value of the package as a teaching resource.

In conclusion, this program provides a useful source of experimental data for students and teaching staff, with nicely drawn graphs and reinforced by relevant questions.

July 1998