The application of the experimental approach to Science and Medicine has its roots in the 16th century. William Harvey (1578-1657), who demonstrated the passage of blood through the veins unidirectionally towards the heart as evidence for circulation of blood, was generally credited as one of the earliest physicians who...

Although the lung is mostly referred to as a respiratory organ it also exhibits a variety of metabolic functions, e.g. uptake, storage and/or synthesis and metabolism of compounds as different as biogenic amines, prostaglandins and angiotensin I. In spite of this vast metabolic capacity and the respiratory role of...

Articular cartilage injuries to the knee are commonly seen by team doctors, sports physicians and orthopaedic surgeons. Despite many clinical as well as experimental studies on the healing of such defects, the ability to regenerate mature hyaline cartilage capable of withstanding daily functional stresses in the knee remains a...

Blood pressure is an important parameter commonly measured in experimental studies using animal models. Various non-invasive techniques to monitor blood pressure have been described in the literature but most of these are applicable only to small animal models like the rat. This article is available only as a PDF. Please...

Bridging a vertebral gap in the spine is one of the commonest problems facing the spine surgeon after dealing with a tumour, infection or a fracture. The gold standard today is still the autogenous graft, though other solutions are the allograft, bone cement fashioned as a block, ceramics and...