Edelman Gamblegrams: A Tool to Teach and Learn Disorders of Water/Plasma Tonicity Homeostasis

This article introduces an innovative teaching and learning tool called "Edelman Gamblegrams" that aims to help medical learners better understand disorders related to water/plasma tonicity homeostasis, i.e., hyponatremia and hypernatremia. Gamblegrams, named after physician James L. Gamble, are bar diagrams displaying the relative abundance of extracellular anions and cations, and are commonly used in the analysis of acid-base disorders. The Edelman equation represents the physiological variables that determine plasma sodium concentration, namely, total body sodium mass, total body potassium mass and total body water volume. Edelman Gamblegrams inspired by traditional Gamblegrams but using the components of the Edelman equation, then visually demonstrate how sodium, potassium and water contribute to plasma sodium concentration under normal and pathological conditions. Scenarios that lead to hypotonic hyponatremia and hypernatremia using Edelman Gamblegrams are also discussed. Furthermore, examples on how these visual aids can enhance understanding of the pathogenesis of dysnatremias are also presented. Overall the use of Edelman Gamblegrams has the potential to improve comprehension and retention of concepts related to water/plasma tonicity homeostasis.PMID:38205519 | DOI:10.1152/advan.00253.2023
Source: Advances in Physiology Education - Category: Physiology Authors: Source Type: research