Chemistry of mucus. Part 1, The relation of form to structure.

UK : University of London, 1975.

1 encoded moving image (34 min.) : sound, black and white.

00:33:35

University of London

CC-BY-NC

Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 2.0 UK: England & Wales

In English

Presented by Dr. J. Schrager, Area Consultant Pathologist, Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, Wigan. Produced by David R. Clark.

This video is one of around 310 titles, originally broadcast on Channel 7 of the ILEA closed-circuit television network, given to Wellcome Trust from the University of London Audio-Visual Centre shortly after it closed in the late 1980s. Although some of these programmes might now seem rather out-dated, they probably represent the largest and most diversified body of medical video produced in any British university at this time, and give a comprehensive and fascinating view of the state of medical and surgical research and practice in the 1970s and 1980s, thus constituting a contemporary medical-historical archive of great interest. The lectures mostly take place in a small and intimate studio setting and are often face-to-face. The lecturers use a wide variety of resources to illustrate their points, including film clips, slides, graphs, animated diagrams, charts and tables as well as 3-dimensional models and display boards with movable pieces. Some of the lecturers are telegenic while some are clearly less comfortable about being recorded; all are experts in their field and show great enthusiasm to share both the latest research and the historical context of their specialist areas.

Segment 1 Dr Schrager details where in the body mucus is found. An illustration of a mucus cell is seen. He describes how the macromolecules that compose mucus are synthesised in the Golgi apparatus, and how Glucose is converted into required sugars. A table lists the properties of the hydrogel, formed by glycoproteins. Footage of mucus movements and cilia is seen. Time start: 00:00:00:00 Time end: 00:05:09:00 Length: 00:05:09:00

Segment 2 Footage of cervical mucus is seen, and Schrager discusses how its structure is hormone dependent. He then talks about the rheology (flow) of mucus and about how study of mucus should focus on the macromolecules that compose it. He details the investigations into the chemistry of mucus, involving the solubilisation of mucus to convert it to a form amenable to gel chromatography. He describes this process. Time start: 00:05:09:00 Time end: 00:10:01:00 Length: 00:04:52:00

Segment 3 A graph shows the results of gel chromatography on mucus. Shrager says he aims to determine the composition of the carbohydrate and protein in mucus glycoproteins, the carbohydrate-protein linkage and to make a detailed study of the composition of the carbohydrate components. He runs through the information that gas liquid chromatography has provided about mucus. Time start: 00:10:01:00 Time end: 00:14:13:00 Length: 00:04:12:00

Segment 4 A chemical diagram shows the sugars in mucus, and Schrager discusses in detail what chromatography reveals about the carbohydrate sugars. As he does this, wall charts are seen listing the composition of carbohydrates. Time start: 00:14:13:00 Time end: 00:21:46:00 Length: 00:07:33:00

Segment 5 Next, Schrager talks about sialated and sulphated glycoproteins, which are secreted by some kinds of mucus cells. He discusses the composition of these glycoproteins. Time start: 00:21:46:00 Time end: 00:24:50:00 Length: 00:03:04:00

Segment 6 Schrager then discusses the layers of organisation in mucus and the bonds that hold it together. He discusses the water content of it. A photograph of gastric mucosa is seen, and he talks about how the physiology of the stomach has built-in elements that are hostile to gastric mucus. Time start: 00:24:50:00 Time end: 00:28:04:00 Length: 00:03:34:00

Segment 7 A demonstration of the properties of mucus is seen. The experiment illustrates the capacity of mucus as a barrier and the destructive effect of acid on the integrity of mucus. Schrager describes the experiment and its results. A table lists the statistics of mucus as a barrier. The film ends with Schrager saying that he is still only at the beginning of his work understanding the chemistry of mucus. Time start: 00:28:04:00 Time end: 00:33:35:09 Length: 00:05:11:09