Physiology Flashcards
What 2 forms of energy are used in the human body?
Chemical and heat energy
What is the 1st Law of Thermodynamics?
Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It is simply transformed.
How do we get energy?
Transfer the energy from one biological substance to another.
What happens to the food we eat?
It breaks down and creates heat energy
What is heat energy used to make?
ATP
What is the most important substance to us?
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
What does ATP stand for?
Adenosine triphosphate
What is ATP made up of?
An adenine molecule
A ribose molecule
3 phosphates
How are the three phosphates of ATP held together? What happens when they split?
They are held together by a strong chemical bond. When this bond is broken, energy is given off, allowing the muscles to work.
When ATP loses a phosphate, where does the energy go?
When our muscles move to create movement, heat is given off to maintain equilibrium.
What does ATP become when it loses a phosphate?
Adenosine diphosphate (ADP)
What happens to the separated phosphate?
It looks for somewhere else to bond to and will use some of the heat as energy to re-bond.
What is ATP?
The usable form of energy in our body
The currency of energy in our body
Can be stored intramuscularly
Can also be produced
What does ADP stand for?
Adenosine diphosphate
What are the 3 systems in our bodies that use the energy from ATP?
1) anaerobic alactic
2) anaerobic lactic
3) aerobic
What is the anaerobic alactic system also called?
The ATP-PC system
What is the anaerobic alactic energy system?
Stored up energy system that does not use oxygen and does not produce lactic acid. It is the simplest, most rapid method of producing ATP.
How does anaerobic alactic energy happen?
It happens intramuscularly, when stored ATP is broken down into ADP. The ADP then finds a phosphate from creating phosphate to become ATP again
How much creatine phosphate can muscle cells store? What does this mean?
Very little, so the system will only last for 10 seconds or less.
What is energy?
The ability to do work
Describe the anaerobic lactic energy system
does not require the immediate consumption of oxygen but does produce lactic acid.
What can the anaerobic lactic energy system also be called?
Glycolosis
How is glucose brought the the muscles and how is it stored?
It is brought by the blood and is stored intramuscularly as glycogen.
What must you have when the anaerobic lactic process begins?
An energized glucose molecule with ATP attached.
After the glucose molecules go through chemical changes, what is the end product?
Pyruvate (pyruvic acid)
The gross production of ATP at this point is 4
What is the net production of ATP from anaerobic glucose degradation?
2 ATP because 2 of the 4 were used to run the chemical changes necessary to get the pyruvate.
What is pyruvate?
The good molecule that is the bridge into the aerobic energy system.
What happens if there is too much pyruvate (or glucose broken down) present?
The aerobic system cannot handle it all.
What is the bridge between the anaerobic lactic system and the aerobic system able to handle?
Only so many pyruvates to pass. The size of the bridge depend on how much oxygen there is.
What happens when glucose/glycogen is broken down slowly enough?
The heart will pump enough oxygen to allow the muscles to work aerobically, or cross the bridge to the Kreb’s Cycle.
What happens if the muscles are working too fast?
There is not enough oxygen available so the pyruvate changes to lactic acid.
What are the effects of lactic acid?
- Change the pH of the muscle cell
- Changes in pH will make enzymes/co-enzymes ineffective
- Enzymes can no longer break down nutrients
- Muscles will slow down and eventually stop
