Embryonic chick tibiae in steady electric fields
Watson et al. · 1975
Watson et al. report that the growth rate of embryonic chick tibiae in vitro is enhanced by a pulsed electric field of 1,000 V cm but not by a static field.
Plain English Summary
Watson et al. found that the growth rate of embryonic chick tibiae in vitro was enhanced by a pulsed electric field of 1,000 V cm but not by a static field. The authors suggest that the lack of enhancement in a static field is due to the ability of the cultures to sustain a field. They explain that during the 9-day growth period in a steady field there is no field within the bone, no charge movement, and thus no bioelectric command signal except at the instants when the field is switched on or off. They derive a relaxation time constant of about 10 seconds for the tissue, indicating that in a steady field there is no transducer mechanism available.
Why This Matters
The authors state that any field produced within the tissue decays exponentially with a relaxation time constant determined by tissue conductivity, dielectric constant, and the permittivity of free space. They note that there are no published data on the electrical properties of uncalcified embryonic bone, so they use Schwan's data for other tissues such as lung, muscle, and liver. They report representative values for conductivity and dielectric constant at very low frequencies (1-10 Hz).
Show BibTeX
@article{embryonic_chick_tibiae_in_steady_electric_fields_g4230,
author = {Watson et al.},
title = {Embryonic chick tibiae in steady electric fields},
year = {1975},
}