Organ bath

[1] It is used in pharmacology research, particularly when studying the contraction of smooth muscle in tissues such as ileum,[2] colon,[3] vas deferens,[4] trachea,[5] bladder,[6] corpus cavernosum,[7] and blood vessels such as aortic rings.

[8] Typical tissues and receptors studied with organ bath preparations include nicotinic, muscarinic, and histamine receptors in the ileum or beta adrenoceptors in the bladder.

[8] Tissues are typically taken from rodents, such as guinea pigs, mice, and rats.

For studying the effects of drugs on receptors in drug discovery and combinatorial chemistry, novel techniques such as high throughput screening, ultrahigh throughput screening and high content screening, pharmacogenomics, proteomics, and array technology have largely superseded the use of organ baths.

[citation needed] Examples of important contributions made using this technique include:

Diagram of a typical organ bath preparation. An excised piece of smooth muscle tissue is held in an oxygenated solution in a chamber. The tissue is attached to a lever, which transmits its contraction to a myograph, thus recording the physiological response. Drugs under investigation can be administered directly to the chamber.