As we have learnt previously, Physiology Practical

(Steeplechase) is basically an exam of speed and smartness. The

only exam that you write in less than 15 minutes and that’s the end.
You either know it or not, no time to align with ‘men you trust’ so to
place yourself on the safer side, it’s best to simply know your stuff
before entering the lab. And that is why this PDF is here for us.
So here we have virtually all the apparatus we have dealt with in
the practicals we have had this semester, so learn the uses of the
apparatus and what they look like. A steeplechase exam is simply to
identify and write,
HAEMOCYTOMETER
(NUBER COUNTING CHAMBER)

– A counting chamber used for counting

Red blood cells
– It is also used in the enumeration of white
blood cells

AUTOMATED PIPPETTE

– Used in pipetting accurate amount of

uids without sucking
– Used to transfer diluent and blood in WBC
and RBC enumeration

Brought to you by
Femi Adeyemi (Uirtus)
LANCET

– Used to make punctures in thumb or any

other part of the body to obtain blood
samples
– Used in haematocrit determination and
coagulation time experiments

HAYEM FLUID

– Is the diluent used in the enumeration of red blood corpuscles

experiment
– Consists of 0.05g HgCl2, 2.5g Na2SO4, 0.5g NaCl in 100ml of water

WBC Diluent Fluid

– Is the diluent used in enumeration of WBCs

– contains 1% gentine violet in 0.5% - 1% acetic acid
– Usually lyses the RBCs in the blood sample so the WBCs can be
counted without interruption

NORMAL SALINE

Is a solution of salt in water usually used to mimic the osmolality

of the internal cell environment. Usually in concentration 0.9% (0.9g
of sterile salt In 100ml of puried water)

Brought to you by
Femi Adeyemi (Uirtus)
SAHLI’S HEMOGLOBINOMETER

– Used to determine the quantity of

hemoglobin in blood
– Also used to determine the hemoglob in
blood concentration
– Consists of 0.1Hcl, Colorimeter, Glass
stirrer, and a blood pipette

MICROHEMATOCRIT CENTRIFUGE

– An instrument which uses centrifugation to

measure the ratio of volume of RBCs to total
blood volume
– Also helps to determine hematocrit
concentration in blood

Brought to you by
Femi Adeyemi (Uirtus)
CAPILLARY TUBES

Two types exist (Heparinised and non-

heparinised)
Heparinised usually has a red coloured
end while non heparinised are usually
coloured blue at their ends
–Usually used in obtaining blood samples for
analysis
– The heparinised tubes help preventing
blood samples from clotting during analysis

WESTERGREN RACK AND TUBES

– The tubes are used in holding th eblood

samples in the determination of rate of
sedimentation of RBC in a given time
– The tubes are used to hold the tubes and
keep them stationary while they are being
observed

Brought to you by
Femi Adeyemi (Uirtus)
 BLOOD GROUPING
The kind of question we might get from this part is a slate where
the test has been carried would be given to us and we’d be asked
to report the result of the tests. A fw things to note are-
1. Agglutination for either of the serums simply means a positive result
for whichever serum indicated. E,g If agglutination occurs on the anti
A serum that means that Blood group A is present.
2. If there is no agglutination on both anti serums then blood group O
iis present.
3. If there is agglutination on the Anti D serum then Rhesus Factor is
present which is then indicated by a + on the blood group. Take a
look at the below and the results that follow.

Anti A serum Anti B serum Anti D serum

X
Y
Z
SUBJECT ANTI A SERUM ANTI B SERUM ANTI D SERUM RESULTS

X — — + O+

Y --- + + B+

Z — — — O–

Brought to you by
Femi Adeyemi (Uirtus)
 SPHYGMOMANOMETER

– Used to calculate blood pressure by

determining
1. Systolic blood pressure and
2. Diastolic blood pressure
– Indicator used is usually mecury

STETHOSCOPE

– Used in determining blood pulse

– Used to listen for the heart sounds in
determination of systolic and diastolic
blood pressure
– Also used in listening for internal sounds in
animal and human patients
URINE TEST STRIP

– Used in standard urinalysis to measure

specic gravity
– We used it in place of a urinometer
depicted below

Brought to you by
Femi Adeyemi (Uirtus)
 SNELLEN’S TEST CHART

– An eye chart used to measure/determine

visual acuity
– The letters on the chart are refered to as
optotypes

OCCLUDER

– Used to cover one eye while the other is

being tested for visual acuity

PEAK EXPIRATORY FLOW METER

– Used to determine peak respiratory ow

rate
– Peak respiratory ow rate is a measure of
the ow of air out of the lungs after a single
forced expiration.

Brought to you by
Femi Adeyemi (Uirtus)
 BJERRUM’S TANGENT SCREEN

– Used to determine central eld of vision

– Used to determine peripheral eld of
vision.

TRIAL FRAME

– Used to hold the occluder, pin hole disk

and +0.50D lens when the eyes are being
tested for visual acuity

Success is ours...AMEN!!!
Brought to you by
Femi Adeyemi (Uirtus)