SOLUTION

1. Explain the importance of considering the depth of the skin in medical

treatments.

First point.

The skin is the largest organ of the human body. It occupies approximately 2 m²,
and its thickness varies between 0.5 mm (in the eyelids) to 4 mm (in the heel). Its
approximate weight is 5 kg. It acts as a protective barrier that isolates the organism
from the environment that surrounds it, protecting it and helping to maintain its
structures intact, while acting as a communication system.

General structure

The general histological structure is composed of:

• Corpuscle of Meissner (Georg Meissner): present in the touch of skin without hair,
palms, plants, fingertips, lips, tip of the tongue, nipples, glans and clitoris (fine
touch).
• Krause corpuscles: that provides the sensation of cold.
• Pacini corpuscles: that gives the sensation of pressure.
• Ruffini corpuscles: that registers the heat.
• Merkel corpuscles: that registers to the superficial touch.

2. Explain at least three ways of propagating electromagnetic waves, including a

brief explanation of them.

¡What is an electromagnetic wave? An electromagnetic wave is the form of propagation of

electromagnetic radiation through space, and its theoretical aspects are related to the
solution in wave form that Maxwell's

Equations admit. Unlike mechanical waves, electromagnetic waves do not need a

material medium to propagate.
There are three forms of propagation of electromagnetic waves in the Earth's atmosphere:
terrestrial wave, space wave (composed of direct waves and waves reflected in the
ground) and celestial or ionospheric waves. One of the most important characteristics of
terrestrial waves is that at frequencies lower than 1.5MHz, the waves have greater
diffusion and less loss at the moment of their propagation. Celestial waves are used for
high frequency applications and space waves are used for very high frequency
applications.

3. Can human tissue change its conductivity due to disease?

Explain Physiological effects of electric current.

For electricity to have an effect on the body, it must become part of an electric circuit. For
an electric current to circulate there must be at least two connections between the body
and an external voltage source. The magnitude of the current depends of the potential
difference between the connections and the electrical resistance of the body. The biggest
part of body tissues contains a high percentage of water; consequently it results an
acceptably good electrical conductor. The part of the organism that lies between the two
electrical contact points constitutes an inhomogeneous volumetric conductor, in which the
Current flow distribution is determined by the local conductivity of the tissue. When the
current is applied to the living tissue, through a pair of electrodes, the distribution This
space is virtually unknown, because of the different resistivity of the tissues and fluids and
their particular arrangements. There is no simple method to make exact measurements of
density distribution current in anisotropic tissue. Living tissues have different electrical
properties in different directions; so, an exact specification of the local distribution of
current, 103 it needs knowledge of the resistivity and voltage gradient along the three
axes. The Practical measurement of these quantities is a formidable task, not easy,
however you can make an estimate based on the resistivity of various tissues and fluids.
On the other hand, many biological samples, reported in the literature, have been
measured without taking sufficient account, the errors due to the polarization of the
electrodes. We must also point out that the tissue without Life has a lower resistivity than
living tissue.
Tablet 1, lists some valúes representative of resistivity.

4. Using the electromagnetic spectrum, select a frequency used in medical

treatment and explain how it is used and select a frequency used in wireless
transmission and explain its application.

Radio frequency (abbreviated RF), also called radiofrequency spectrum, is a term

applied to the least energetic portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, located
between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz) .1

Radiofrequency has been used in medical treatments during the last 75 years,
generally for minimally invasive surgery, using radiofrequency ablation or cry
ablation. Among the treatments in which radiofrequency is used is against apnea
during sleep or for cardiac arrhythmias.4

Diathermy is a technique that uses the heat produced by radiofrequency for

surgical treatments, in such a way that it produces the coagulation of tissues and
prevents tissue from bleeding after the surgical incision. In addition to cauterizing
blood vessels to prevent excessive bleeding, heat produced by diathermy can also
be used to destroy tumors, warts and infected tissues. This technique is particularly
valuable in neurosurgery and eye surgery. Diathermy equipment normally operates
on the shortwave radio frequency (range 1-100 MHz) or microwave energy (range
of 434 to 915 MHz) .5
5. Define the following concepts and give an example of a practical application
where they are used:

 Loss of power: The ideal circuit would be one that uses all the energy
produced by the source, that is, there would be no loss, but in practice this
is not possible. Some of the energy produced is lost in the drivers in the
same source. As much as possible it is about minimizing this useless
consumption. Most of the power is lost in the form of heat.
 Coupled transmission lines: all the incident power is supplied to the load
regardless of the length of the line.
 Load impedance: Component that demands current or power from an
electrical circuit. Normally it is located in parallel with the output terminal of
the circuit, so the load impedance is in parallel with the output impedance of
the circuit, changing the voltage and current values supplied.
 The reflection: coefficient is used in physics and in Engineering when
considering media with discontinuities in wave propagation. A reflection
coefficient describes the amplitude (or intensity) of a reflected wave relative
to the incident wave. The reflection coefficient is closely related to the
transmission coefficient.
 Refraction: is the change of direction that a wave experiences when
passing from one material medium to another. It only occurs if the wave
strikes obliquely on the separation surface of the two media and if they have
different refractive indices.