Q1) A soldier after death was found in a rigid

posture and his limbs could not be

disengaged.
a)What is the condition called?

Rigor mortis

b)What is the cause of the condition?

Rigormotis refers to the stiffness of the body after the death of a person. Due to
biochemical change in the muscles which occurs a few hours after the death,
although the time of its death totally depends on the Ambient temperature. The
biochemical basis of rigormortis is the hydrolysis of ATP in the muscle, and the
energy source that is required for movement. Without ATP, the myosin molecules
tend to adhere to the actin filaments and muscles thereby become rigid
 c) What is its importance?
Forensic experts use this in medicolegal cases; occasionally helpful in
determining whether a body has been moved after death. If a body is found in
an unusual position for eg:- one that could not have been maintained under the
influence of gravity during the primary relaxation of muscles after death- this
position implies that the body has been moved after the development of rigor
mortis.
Rigor mortis may make examination of the palms and inner aspects of the
fingers difficult, so that current marks or defence injuries located here may be
overlooked. Rigor mortis is an important indicator of post-mortem interval
influenced by many endogenous and exogenous factors.

Q2) A patient came with the complaints of

progressive paralysis in muscles. He also had
ptosis. On giving injection Neostigmine, patient
showed improvement.
a) Identify the condition.

Myasthenia gravis

b) What is the cause?

Autoimmune disease; inability of the neuromuscular junctions to transmit
enough signals from the nerve fibres to muscle fibres. Antibodies are
produced against proteins of Ach gated channels/receptor(reduction in
subneural clefts) Hence ach released at nerve endings in normal levels
cant make adequate end plate potential to initiate opening of voltage
gated sodium channels and thus muscle fibre depolarisation does not
occur.

c) Discuss the action of Neostigmine.

Neostigmine inhibits the hydrolysis of ach for
attachment to acetylcholinesterase at sites of
 cholinergic transmission. It enhances cholinergic
action by facilitating the transmission of impulses
across neuromuscular junctions.

Q3) An athlete was trained by his coach for

marathon run for 2 years. Inspite of his
training, athlete did not show any
improvement in his performance. The coach
took him to a sports medicine expert, who
advised many tests including Muscle Biopsy.
a)Explain the significance of Muscle Biopsy in
this case.

Fast twitch fibres can deliver extreme

amounts of power for a few seconds to a
minute or so. Conversely, slow twitch fibres
provide endurance, delivering prolonged
strength of contraction over many minutes
to hours.
Fast twitch Slow twitch

Marathoners 18 82

Swimmers 26 74

Average male 55 45

Weight lifters 55 45
Sprinters 63 37

Jumpers 63 37

Q4) In an experimental setup, action potentials

from three different living cells were recorded
with one intracellular electrode. The Action
Potentials obtained were i. Spike Potential ii.
Plateau Potential
a)Name the cells in which these potentials are
seen.
* Spike seen in large myelinated nerve fibres
and skeletal muscles. Plateau seen in
contractile heart muscles.
b)Why do they differ?

c) What is the functional importance of different

types of action potentials?
Q5)An axon was stimulated with a
suprathreshold stimulus within 1 msec & then
after 3 msec of firing of the action potential.
Response was not observed in the first case
but was present in the second case.

1) What is this phenomenon known as?

Refractory period
2) What are the two types?
Absolute and Relative
 3) What is the ionic (molecular) basis of
each?

Q6)On stimulation of a nerve, a multipeaked

action potential was recorded.

a) What is multipeaked action potential also

known as?
Compound action potential
b)In which type of nerve is it seen? Mixed
nerves

b) What is the physiological basis of the

same?

Q7)An arrow hit a tourist wandering through the

African jungle & he developed skeletal muscle
paralysis.
 a) Which drug may be present in the arrow
tip? curare
b) What is the probable mechanism of action
of the drug?
D- tubocuranine acts as a competitive inhibitor in the nicotinic
acetylcholine receptor preventing neuromuscular transmission by
combining with ach receptors. Hence ach cannot combine to
receptors and end plate potential cannot be developed causing
paralysis.

Q8)A person was brought to the hospital with

history of snakebite. On examination patient had
ptosis, was unable to lift his neck and his
respiratory rate was decreased.
a) What is the cause of this condition?
Snake bite released toxin that caused neurogenic toxicity.

b) Explain the effects.

Paralysation of muscle due to toxin.

c) Give physiological basis of treatment.

Antisnake venom given
Q8)A patient was posted for surgery. He was
administered atropine preoperatively. Scoline
was given prior to tracheal intubation.

1) Why are these drugs used?

1) What is their mechanism of action?