Venipuncture in the medical physiology laboratory.
Am J Physiol
; 274(6 Pt 2): S62-7, 1998 Jun.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-9841567
ABSTRACT
Medical physiology laboratories, traditionally devoted to animal experimentation, face unprecedented difficulties linked to cost, staffing, instrumentation, and the use of animals. At the same time, laboratory experiences with living creatures play a unique role in medical education. In this article we describe the use of venipuncture and subsequent blood analysis, with medical students serving as both subjects and experimenters, in a sequence of first-year physiology laboratories. These experiments are safe, robust, inexpensive, and time efficient, and they teach the principles of cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, nutritional, and gastrointestinal physiology. In addition, they enhance medical education in several other important dimensions. First, they teach safe venous blood collection and handling, a training appropriate for students at this level. Second, by serving each week as subjects as well as experimenters, students experience aspects of both sides of the doctor-patient relationship. Third, the laboratories can be used to teach fundamentals of research design and analysis. Finally, because blood analysis is central to medicine, and because the student's own blood data are discussed, students are enthusiastic and cooperative, and the clinical relevance of the data is clear.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Physiology
/
Phlebotomy
/
Clinical Laboratory Techniques
/
Education, Medical
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Am J Physiol
Year:
1998
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States