A survey of birth order status of students studying for medical degree at the University of Sheffield.

Objective: It is hypothesised that firstborn children and only children are more intelligent with higher intelligence scores having been observed in firstborn or only children. Evidence of the increased intelligence has been suggested by the fact that 21/23 (91%) of US astronauts, 23/43 (53%) of US presidents and between 75 and 80% of students at Harvard are firstborn or only children. It is of interest to investigate, therefore, whether a high achieving career such as medicine has a disproportionate number of firstborn or only children.

Evidence for two types of excitatory receptor for 5-hydroxytryptamine in dog isolated vasculature.

1 As part of an investigation into the mode of action of anti-migraine drugs, a study of the excitatory receptors for 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) has been carried out in a range of isolated vascular preparations from the dog.2 5-HT contracted the dog isolated femoral artery and saphenous vein over the concentration-range 1.0 x 10(-8) to 5.

A proposed mechanism for the biphasic vasoconstrictor responses to 5-hydroxytryptamine and methysergide in the rabbit ear artery.

Rabbit ear arteries were isolated and perfused at a constant flow rate so that the perfusate flowed into the fluid bathing the adventitial surface of the artery. Submaximal doses of intraluminally applied noradrenaline injected as a bolus into the perfusion fluid produced transient monophasic vascoconstrictor responses. In contrast, similarly administered 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) or methysergide caused prolonged biphasic vascoconstrictor responses.

Receptors for 5-hydroxytryptamine and noradrenaline in rabbit isolated ear artery and aorta.

5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is thought to be implicated in the vascular disturbances of the external carotid artery bed associated with migraine. As part of a study of the pharmacology of some 5-HT antagonists used in the treatment of migraine we have examined the interactions of these drugs with 5-HT and noradrenaline in rabbit isolated ear artery and aortic strip. The results provide new information on the distribution of 5-HT-receptors in these preparations.