The highly interactive program is designed to teach the basic physiology of the hormones involved in the regulation of plasma calcium. It covers:

• location and structure of the parathyroid glands,
• synthesis, release, transport and action of parathyroid hormone, calcitonin and vitamin D on bone, kidney and gastrointestinal tract,
• physiological role of calcium,
• structure of bone and bone remodelling,
• principal abnormalities of calcium metabolism - hyperparathyroidism, hypoparathyroidism, vitamin D deficiency and osteoporosis.

High quality colour graphics are used extensively throughout the program and features such as animation and a Hypertext facility are used to enhance student learning. The program uses several features to promote interactivity e.g. students are required to:

(i) label diagrams by "dragging" labels from a list and "dropping" them into the appropriate box on the diagram,
(ii) answer a variety of self-assessment questions (multiple choice, selecting correct phrases from a list to complete a statement, and true/false questions with feedback).

System Requirements: Windows: Intel Pentium II 450MHz or faster processor (or equivalent), 128MB of RAM; Microsoft Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 Macintosh: PowerPC G3 500MHz or faster processor, 128MB of RAM; Mac OS X v.10.1.x, 10.2.x, 10.3.x, or 10.4.x

Recommended browser software: Windows: Internet Explorer; Macintosh: Safari or Firefox; Both: Adobe Flash Player plug-in, version 8 or higher.

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