Physiology Lecture  Ions and nutrients needed by the cells to

Chapter 1 Introduction maintain cell life

 Thus, all cells live in essentially the same
I. FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION OF THE environment—the extracellular fluid.
HUMAN BODY AND CONTROL OF THE
INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Introduction
 Anatomy: to dissect; investigates body structure
 Physiology: investigates processes and functions
 Human Physiology: studies the human
organism
 Systemic Physiology: studies body organ-
Extracellular Vs. Intracellular Fluids
systems
EF IF
 Cellular Physiology: studies body cells
Contents: Contents:
Structural and functional Organization
 Large amounts of sodium,  Large
 Cell - basic living unit of the body is the cell.
chloride, bicarbonate ions amounts of
 Each tissue or organ is an aggregate of many
 Nutrients for the cells potassium,
different cells held together by intercellular
(oxygen, glucose, fatty magnesium,
supporting structures.
acids, amino acids) phosphate
 Carbon dioxide ions
(transported from the cells
to the lungs to be
excreted)
 Other cellular waste
products (transported to
the kidneys for excretion)

Extracellular Fluid – The “Internal Environment”

 About 60% of the adult human body is fluid,
mainly a water solution of ions and other II. HOMEOSTASIS
substances
 maintenance of constant internal environment
 Intracellular Fluid – most of this fluid is inside despite fluctuations in the external or internal
the cells environment
 Extracellular Fluid – one third is in the spaces  Variables: measures of body properties that
outside the cells may change in value
Examples of variables:
• body temperature
• heart rate
• blood pressure
• blood glucose levels
• blood cell counts
• respiratory rate
Extracellular Fluid
 Normal range: normal extent of increase or
 In constant motion throughout the body
decrease around a set point
 Transported rapidly in the circulating blood 
 Set point: normal, or average value of a
mixed between the blood and the tissue fluids
variable; Over time, body temperature
by diffusion through the capillary walls
fluctuates around a set point
 1. Stretch of the uterus (receptors) signals the
control center (brain) to increase contractions of
the uterine smooth muscles by oxytocin
(effector).
2. Continued stretch of the uterus signals the
control center to further increase contractions.
3. Contractions increase until the fetus is pushed
out of the uterus Positive feedback continues
4. until the original stimulus (the fetus in the
uterus) is removed.
Negative Feedback
 main mechanism used homeostatic regulation
III. ORIGIN OF THE NUTRIENTS IN THE
 A negative feedback response involves:
EXTRACELLULAR FLUID
1. detection: of deviation away from set point
 Respiratory System
2. correction: reversal of deviation toward set
o each time the blood passes through the
point and normal range
body, it also flows through the lungs
o blood picks up oxygen in the alveoli,
thus acquiring the oxygen needed by
the cells
o membrane between the alveoli and the
lumen of the pulmonary capillaries, the
alveolar membrane, is only 0.4 to 2.0
micrometers thick, and oxygen rapidly
diffuses by molecular motion through
this membrane into the blood

Positive Feedback
 mechanisms occur when the initial stimulus
further stimulates the response
 system response causes progressive deviation
away from set point, outside of normal range
 not directly used for homeostasis
 some positive feedback occurs under normal
conditions (Example: childbirth)
 generally associated with injury, disease
 negative feedback mechanisms unable to
maintain homeostasis

Positive-feedback mechanisms.

 Gastrointestinal Tract
o large portion of the blood pumped by
the hear also passes through the walls
of the gastrointestinal tract
o different dissolved nutrients, including
carbohydrates, fatty acids, and amino
acids are absorbed from the ingested
food into the extracellular fluid of the
blood
 Liver and Other Organs that Perform Primarily
Metabolic Functions  Liver
o Note: Not all substances absorbed from o detoxification or removal of many drugs
the gastrointestinal tract can be used in and chemicals that are ingested
their absorbed form by the cells. o secretes many of these wastes into the
o LIVER - changes the chemical bile to be eventually eliminated in the
compositions of many of these feces
substances to more usable forms, and
other tissues of the body—fat cells, V. REGULATION OF BODY FUNCTIONS
gastrointestinal mucosa, kidneys, and  Nervous System
endocrine glands help modify the o Sensory Receptors
absorbed substances or store them  detect the state of the body or
until they are needed the state of the surroundings
o liver - eliminates certain waste products • eyes are sensory organs that
produced in the body and toxic give one a visual image of the
substances that are ingested surrounding area
 Musculoskeletal System
o How does the musculoskeletal system
contribute to homeostasis?
 Allows body to move to the
appropriate place at the appropriate
time to obtain the foods required for
nutrition
 also provides motility for protection
against adverse surroundings,
o Central Nervous System
without which the entire body, along
 composed of the brain and
with its homeostatic mechanisms,
spinal cord
could be destroyed instantaneously
 brain can store information,
generate thoughts, create
IV. REMOVAL OF METABOLIC END PRODUCTS
ambition, and determine
 Removal of Carbon Dioxide by the Lungs
reactions that the body
o at the same time that blood picks up
performs in response to the
oxygen in the lungs, CO2 is released
sensations
from the blood into the lung alveoli
o Hormone Systems
o respiratory movement of air into and
 eight major endocrine glands
out of the lungs carries the carbon
that secrete chemical
dioxide to the atmosphere
substances (hormones)
o CARBON DIOXIDE -> most abundant of
•HORMONES - transported in
all the end products of metabolism
the extracellular fluid to all
 Kidneys
parts of the body to help
o passage of the blood through the
regulate cellular function
kidneys removes from the plasma most
of the other substances besides carbon
dioxide that are not needed by the cells
o substances include different end
products of cellular metabolism:
 urea and uric acid
 excess of ions and water fr the
food that might have accumulated
in the extracellular fluid
 Gastrointestinal Tract
o undigested material that enters the
gastrointestinal tract and some waste
products of metabolism are eliminated
in the feces

VI. PROTECTION OF THE BODY
 Immune System
o provides a mechanism for the body to:
1. distinguish its own cells from
foreign cells and substances
2. destroy the invader by phagocytosis
or by producing sensitized
lymphocytes or specialized proteins
(e.g, antibodies) that either destroy
or neutralize the invader
 Integumentary System
o skin and its various appendages,
including the hair, nails, glands, and
other structures, cover, cushion, and
protect the deeper tissues and organs
of the body and generally provide a
boundary between the body’s internal
environment and the outside world
VII. REPRODUCTION
o sometimes reproduction is not considered a
homeostatic function
o does help maintain homeostasis by generating
new beings to take the place of those that are
dying
o all essentially all body structures are organized
such that they help maintain the automaticity
and continuity of life
VIII. CONTROL SYSTEMS
1. Regulation of Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide
Concentrations in the Extracellular Fluid.
2. Regulation of Arterial Blood Pressure
 Characteristics of Control Systems
1. Negative Feedback Nature of Most Control
Systems
2. Gain of a Control System
3. Positive Feedback May Cause Vicious Cycles and Death
4. Positive Feedback Can Sometimes Be Useful
a. Childbirth
IX. SUMMARY
• 35 to 40 trillion cells organized into different
functional structures,
• functional structure contributes its share to the
maintenance of homeostasis in the extracellular
fluid, which is called the internal environment.
• As long as normal conditions are maintained in this
internal environment, the cells of the body
continue to live and function properly.
• This reciprocal interplay provides continuous
automaticity of the body until one or more
functional systems lose their ability to contribute
their share of function.
• When functional system lose, all the cells of the
body suffer. Extreme dysfunction leads to death;
moderate dysfunction leads to sickness