1 Measurement of plasma ion concentrations can provide important information about changes in fluid and electrolyte

balance of patients. Hyperkalemia (an elevated plasma potassium concentration) can occur as a result of massive
tissue damage and this may have serious neurological consequences.
a) If the resting potential of nerve cells is -80 mV and normal intracellular [K+ ] concentration is 140 mM, what
approximate change in membrane potential would be predicted by the Nernst equation if the plasma [K+ ]
concentration increased to 10 mM ? (2marks)
The new resting membrane potential would be approximately -70mV ie there would be a 10
mV depolarisation.

b) The graph shows the response of the resting membrane potential to either the extracellular
Na+ or K+ concentration. What evidence suggests the membrane is more permeable to K+ than to Na+ ? (2 marks)

Increasing the extracellular K+ concentration causes a much greater depolarisation of the

membrane potential than when there is an equivalent increase in the extracellular Na+
concentration.

c) The line showing the relationship between the extracellular K+ and the membrane potential
passes through 0 mV. What is the approximate extracellular K+ concentration when this
occurs? (1 mark)
The extracellular to K+ would be approximately 140 mM
d) Explain the reason for this observation (2 marks)
When the intracellular and extracellular to K+ concentrations are equal there is no
concentration gradient driving K+ across the membrane. For this reason the resting
membrane potential will be close to zero.
e) At the peak of an action potential what can you say about the PNa+:PK+ ratio compared to the
PNa+:PK+ ratio observed at the resting membrane potential and how does this help explain the ionic basis of the
action potential. ? (3 marks)
At the peak of the action potential, the PNa+ :PK+ ratio would have increased to
approximately 600:50 from its resting value of 1:50. This is because the membrane has
become much more permeable to sodium ions because of the activation of voltage dependant
Na channels. The subsequent repolarisation results from the closing of the time dependant Na channels and the
delayed opening of the K channels.

2 Draw annotated diagrams to show the process of neurulation and the formation of the neural crest.
(5 marks)
Simplified version of these diagrams with the following features:
1 Neural groove and folds (2 marks)
2 Neural crest cells shown at the crest of the fold (1 mark)
3 Position of the notochord and formation of ectoderm over the neural tube (1mark)
4 Indication that the fusion of the folds begins in the cervical region (middle of the embryo (1 mark)

b). What common conditions result from failure of neurulation and what is the result for the child at birth? (2
marks)
1 Anencephaly: cannot survive 2 Spina bifida: may survive but disabled
c) What structures are formed in the adult by the neural crest? (3 marks)
Sensory, spinal and sympathetic ganglia
Medulla of the adrenal gland, C cells of thyroid gland
Endocardial cushions
Melanocytes
Schwann cells = Myelin sheaths of axons etc

3 Neurotransmitters are the principle point of pharmacological therapeutics.

a) What are the four criteria that a molecule must conform to in order to be considered a neurotransmitter? (4
marks)

1 production pre-synaptically
2 storage pre-synaptically
3 released on demand not constitutively released
4 must be inactivated somehow
b) What are the three ways neurotransmitters are inactivated? (3 marks)
1 diffusion
2 enzymal breakdown
3 re-uptake
c) What are the principal structural classes of neurotransmitter? (3 marks)
Any three of these
1.
2.
3.
4.

Amino acids
Biogenic amines (comprising the catacholamines and indolamines 0.5 marks for either)
Peptides
Esters

4 Neurons are responsible for moving, integrating and partitioning information in the body.
To do this they have a specific common morphology which adapts to their function however
a) Label the following diagram of a stylised neuron (4 marks)

Axons from other neurons

Cell body or soma

Nucleus
Dendritic branches
Myelin sheath
Internode

Node
Bouton
What are the principal differences between the structure/function and location of oligodendrocytes and
Schwann cells? (2 marks)
Oligodendrocytes are found in the CNS and provide myelination to multiple axons
Schwann cells are found in the PNS and provide myelination to only a small part of one axon
c) Write a general equation which summarises the operation of the sodium-potassium pump and briefly
describe the structure of the transporter in the membrane. (4 marks)

tetramer, MW 270000, 95000 40000

Na ions bind internally (3 per )
K ions bind externally (2 per )

d) What role does the Na/K ATPase play in the action potential? (1 Mark)
No direct role other than to maintain the Na and K gradients by pumping Na out and replacing K lost. It is
the ionic gradients and changes in membrane permeability that give rise to the action potential. Activity of
the Na/K ATPase, by maintaining the ionic gradients, creates the environment where the action potential can
happen.

5 You have been asked to test a new synthetic membrane that its manufacturers claim to be selectively permeable to
potassium. They are hoping to develop this as part of a project looking to create an artificial kidney. In order to check
the claims you must first calculate the values you would expect to obtain if this claim is true. Use the Nernst equation
(at 37 C) to calculate the expected potential across the membrane and plot the resulting data on the graph. The
concentration of [K+] in the chamber containing the intracellular fluid was 160 mM.

[K+]o mM

Membrane
potential (mV)

10

30

50

80

100

160

200

-135

-116

-92

-74

-44

-31

-18

-13

a) Using the graph paper provided, draw the theoretical relationship between [K+]o and the membrane potential (label
the axes appropriately). (6 marks)

b) What evidence from the graph indicates perfect [K+] selectivity)? (2 marks)

- since the potential is proportional to the logarithm of the ratio of the concentrations, a graph which plots
the membrane potential on the y-axis v the [K+] on the log x-axis should be linear
c) Why is the potential recorded a positive value when the external [K+] is 200 mM? (2 marks)

Under these conditions there is a net flow of [K+] down the concentration gradient from the extracellular
compartment to the intracellular compartment (rather than from inside to out). This inward movement of
positive charge causes the potential of the intracellular chamber to become positive.

6 Draw a labelled diagram of adipose tissue to illustrate its main features (2 marks)

Fat
droplet

b) Adipocytes produce a hormone. What is it called and what is the function of this molecule? (2 marks)
Human leptin is a protein of 167 amino acids. It is manufactured primarily in the adipocytes of white adipose
tissue, and the level of circulating leptin is directly proportional to the total amount of fat in the body.
Leptin acts to suppress appetite
The graph below shows recent data on obesity in women compiled by the American Heart Association

c) What type of graph has been used to present the data? (1 mark)
Histogram (more accurately a stacked histogram, but histogram will be fine)
d) Briefly describe the graph and explain how the data has been presented (2 marks)
The graph shows worldwide data relating to the BMI of women. The Y axis shows the frequency of the BMI
expressed as a percentage. 2 groups are displayed
Overweight group (dark red) shows the % of women with a BMI greater than 25 and less than 30 kg/m 2.

The obese group (lighter colour) shows the % of women with a BMI greater than 30 kg/m2.
The X axis shows the regions used to compile the BMI data for each group. The final column shows the
pooled world wide data
f) What BMI range is considered as being obese? (1 mark)
>30 kg/m2.
g) List 4 inferences/ findings you can draw from these data (2 marks)
Overall (world wide) approximately 32% of women are classified as being overweight and approximately
25% are obese
East and South Asia have the lowest rates of obesity (7 -15%) but the % of women overweight is very similar
to that seen in other regions
Data from the African continent shows that the % of women who are obese outnumber those categorised
as overweight.
The highest rate of obesity is found in women from the middle east (approximately 40%)
The % of overweight women is approximately 30% in all regions and shows very little variation
Providing the point made is sensible it is likely to get a mark. No marks for saying that obesity is 31% in
one region, 29% in another region, 32% in another region etc. Though there are no statistics shown it is
unlikely that these small differences would be significant.
If I had also asked about what extra information might have been useful to help interpret these data, a
sensible response might have been to indicate that any presentation of these data also needs to include the
numbers of women sampled. Are we to believe that the AHA weighed every woman in Southern Europe
and calculated their BMI or is the data based on a sample (random?) drawn from the population? If data
were only collected from a sample of 50 women, the results would be less reliable than if the data were
collected from a sample of 10000 women