Module 1 - Intro To Human Physiology Flashcards
What is human physiology?
Scientific study of the functions of our body
What is the teleological approach?
Explains body functions in terms of meeting a bodily need, it’s the why of body processes
What is the mechanistic approach?
Explain body functions in terms of cause-and-effect of body processes, it’s the how of body processes
What is cell differentiation?
Allows specialization of different types of cells
What are the basic cell functions?
Metabolism, growth, and reproduction
What are the 4 types of tissue?
Muscle, nervous, epithelial, and connective
What are the 3 types of muscle tissue?
Skeletal, cardiac, and smooth
What are the 2 general types of epithelial tissues?
Epithelial sheets and secretory glands
What are the two types of glandular epithelial tissue?
Exocrine glands - secrete through ducts to outside the body (or lumen that leads to outside)
Endocrine glands - secretes without ducts into the blood
What are the levels of organization?
Atoms Molecules Cells Tissues Organs Organ systems Organism
What are the 11 body systems?
Circulatory Digestive Respiratory Urinary Skeletal Muscular Integumentary Immune Nervous Endocrine Reproductive
What is homeostasis?
Ability of cell or organism to regulate its internal conditions
What is a set point?
Desired level at which homeostatic control mechanisms maintain a controlled variable; we often don’t have these, but more of a range
What is the physiological range?
Normal range for a physiological variable that the body operates most efficiently within
What is the internal environment?
• Watery environment in which the body cells are in direct contact and can make life-sustaining exchanges
Made of extracellular fluid
What is intracellular fluid?
Fluid contained within all body cells
What is extracellular fluid?
Fluid outside the body cells
What are the 2 components of extracellular fluid?
Plasma and interstitial fluid
What are some factors of the internal environment that must be maintained for homeostasis?
Concentration of nutrients, O2, CO2, waste, electrolytes
Blood pressure and adequate plasma volume
Temperature
pH
How does the circulatory system contribute to homeostasis?
Transports materials from one part of the body to another
Thermoregulation by moving heat to periphery from the core
How does the digestive system contribute to homeostasis?
Breaks down food and absorbs it into plasma
Transfers water and electrolytes from external environment to internal environment
Eliminates food waste to the external environment
How does the respiratory system contribute to homeostasis?
Exchanges O2 and CO2 between external and internal environment
CO2 removal contributes to adequate pH
How does the urinary system contribute to homeostasis?
Removes excess water, salt, acid, electrolytes, and other wastes from plasma for elimination
How does the skeletal system contribute to homeostasis?
Protection and support for internal organs
Reservoir for calcium
Bone marrow forms blood cells
How does the muscular system contribute to homeostasis?
Skeletal muscles allow movement towards food and away from danger
Skeletal muscles contribute to thermoregulation
How does the integumentary system contribute to homeostasis?
Protects internal environment from fluid loss, invasion of microorganisms, and thermoregulation
How does the nervous system contribute to homeostasis?
Major regulatory control system
Detects and initiates reactions to changes in external environment
How does the endocrine system contribute to homeostasis?
Major regulatory control system
Regulates activities in long term
How does the reproductive system contribute to homeostasis?
Ensure systems are optimized for reproductive success
What are the 3 basic components of a homeostasis control system?
Receptor, control center, and effector
What are the 2 classes of control systems?
Intrinsic and extrinsic controls
What are intrinsic controls?
• Built into or inherent to an organ
What are extrinsic controls?
- Regulatory mechanisms initiated outside an organ to alter the activity of the organ
- Accomplished by nervous or endocrine systems
- Allows simultaneous regulation of multiple organs to accomplish a goal
What is a negative feedback system?
- Primary control system
- Corrective adjustment opposes the original deviation from the steady state
- Opposing mechanisms can move most hemostatically controlled variables in either direction as needed
Which one of the following activities is NOT carried out by every cell in they body?
A. Obtaining oxygen and nutrients
B. Eliminating waste
C. Performing chemical reactions to acquire energy for the cell’s use
D. Reproducing
D
Which one of the following is a type of connective tissue? A. Spinal cord B. Bone C. Epithelial tissue D. Nervous tissue
B
The body system responsible for obtaining oxygen and removing carbon dioxide is the A. Circulatory system B. Integumentary system C. Respiratory system D. Skeletal system
C
List the proper progression of the levels of organization in the body
Atoms Molecules Cells Tissue Organ Organ system Organism
List the 4 primary types of tissues
Connective, epithelial, muscle, and nervous
List the 3 components of a homeostatic control system?
Receptor (sensory), control center (integrator), and an effector
Using your knowledge of homeostatic feedback systems, which one of the following would be an appropriate response to a decrease in body temperature? A. Muscle contraction B. Muscle shivering C. Skin flushing D. Increased blood supply to the skin
B
Although a common feature of all cells, which one of the following cell types is even more specialized for the elimination of unwanted substances? A. Glandular cells B. Muscle cells C. Nerve cells D. Red blood cells
B
Applying the concept of dynamic equilibrium, which one of the following statements is MOST correct?
A. A homeostatic factor is maintained within a small physiological range
B. A homeostatic factor is maintained at a precise set point
C. Homeostatic factors have set points that frequently change
D. Homeostatic factors vary widely around a set point
A
Compare and contrast the differences of feedback and feedforward systems
Feedback systems react to a change in a controlled factor where a feedforward system anticipates a change of a controlled factor
Compare and contrast exocrine and endocrine glands
Exocrine glands release via ducts to outside the body (or into a lumen connected to the outside of the body)
Endocrine glands are ductless and release their products (such as hormones) into the blood stream
Differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic controls.
Intrinsic controls are located within the organ and control just the mechanisms of the organ.
Extrinsic controls are initiated outside the organ and can control multiple organs throughout the body; these changes occur via the nervous and/or endocrine system
Select the most appropriate element of a physiological control system that best describes the role of a sweat gland
A. Sensor
B. Integrator
C. Effector
C
Removing the ability of a cell type to reproduce potentially has what effect on an organ?
A. No effect
B. Changes it from a negative to positive feedback homeostatic system
C. Makes it more susceptible to damage
D. Alters its function
C
If there is a change of pH around a particular cell, predict which body system would NOT be involved in correcting this imbalance A. Circulatory system B. Digestive system C. Respiratory system D. Urinary system
D
Considering the nature of negative-feedback control and the function of the respiratory system, what effect would a decrease in carbon dioxide in the internal environment have on how deeply a person breathes?
It would cause the breathing to become slower and shallower
The hormone insulin enhances the transport of glucose from the blood into most body cells. Its secretion is controlled by a negative-feedback system between the concentration of glucose in the body and the insulin-secreting cells. Describe what happens when there is an increase in blood sugar.
An increase in blood sugar would lead to an increase in insulin production and release, this would decrease the blood sugar levels back to the physiological range and insulin production would cease
Body temperature is homeostatically regulated around a physiological range. Given your knowledge of negative-feedback and homeostatic control systems, predict whether narrowing or widening of the blood vessels of the skin would occur when a person exercises strenuously.
They would widen to increase heat loss
Jennifer has a stomach flu that is going around campus. She has been vomiting profusely for the past 24 hours. Not only has she been unable to keep down fluids or food, but she has also lost the acidic digestive juices secreted by the stomach that are normally reabsorbed back into the blood farther down the digestive tract.
In what ways might this condition threaten to disrupt homeostasis in Jennifer’s internal environment?
What homeostatically maintained factors are moved away from normal by her profuse vomiting?
What body systems respond to resist these changes?
Excessive fluid loss - cardiovascular system would cause vasoconstriction, urinary system would retain more water, thirst encourages fluid intake
Electrolytes lost - urinary system would retain more electrolytes
Loss of digestive juices alters the pH - urinary system reduces amount of acid removed and respiratory system will decrease loss of CO2 to increase acidity
Decrease in new nutrients - endocrine system would pull from stores to ensure constant nutrients available
What is a positive feedback system?
• Less frequently used, but notably used during childbirth to increase contractions
• Information returned to the system increases the deviation from the setpoint
• Include a mechanism to stop the system
• Heatstroke is an example of runaway positive feedback
o Increase in temperature causes dysfunction of control center, cooling function diminished, and temperature continues to rise which causes further damage to control system causing a spiral
What is feedforward system?
- Anticipates change in a regulated factor
* Such as early release of insulin when the stomach is full anticipating absorption of glucose
Define physiology
The study of the body functions
Compare basic cell functions and specialized cell functions
Basic cell functions are functions required to keep all cells alive whereas specialized cell functions help to keep the organism alive.
Distinguish among external environment and internal environment
The external environment is outside the body whereas the internal environment is within the body that the cells live within
Distinguish among intracellular fluid, extracellular fluid, plasma, and interstitial fluid
Intracellular fluid is located within the cells cytoplasm
Extracellular fluid is the fluid is any fluid not located within the cells and includes plasma and interstitial fluid
Plasma is the fluid located within the cardiovascular system
Interstitial fluid is located outside the cardiovascular system and outside the cells, it is the environment that the cells live within
Distinguish between intrinsic controls and extrinsic controls
Intrinsic controls are located within an organ and only control the organ
Extrinsic controls are located in a control center outside the target organ and control its target(s) using the nervous and endocrine systems
Compare and contrast negative feedback and positive feedback
Negative feedback decreases the deflection from the physiological range to bring it back to within range.
Positive feedback increases the deflection from the physiological range pushing it farther from the range until the stop mechanism is triggered
