Quiz #1 Flashcards
What are the levels of organization in the body?
cell tissue organ organ system organism
What are the 4 major cell groups/tissue types?
neurons/nerve
muscle
epithelial
connective
What is homeostasis?
the ability to maintain a relatively constant internal environment that is the basis for all physiological function
What are the main components of the negative feedback system for homeostasis?
receptors
- sensitive to change in physiology
afferent nerve
control/integrating centre
- receives info from receptors and interprets it
efferent nerve
effectors
- receives signals from control centre and causes response that returns physiological variable to set point
What are the 3 stages of signal transduction?
reception
- signalling molecule and receptor fit like lock and key, cause transduction
transduction
- molecules/proteins expressed cause a signal transduction pathway leading to a response
response
- activation of cellular responses
What are tight junctions?
found in epithelium
line surface of organs
form a nearly impermeable barrier that keeps cells very tight together
have occludins
What are occludins?
integral proteins that fuse adjacent cells
What are desmosomes?
in cardiac muscle, bladder, and GI muscosa (muscle tissues that are subject to significant mechanical stress)
filamentous junctions that keep cells tight together for strength
What are gap junctions?
made of membrane proteins
link cytosol of 2 adjacent cells for direct, rapid communication
- ions and molecules travel between cells
have connexins
What are connexins?
gap junction proteins that span membranes open to create a channel
How do cells communicate over long distances?
combo of electrical (nerve cells) and chemical (hormones) signals
What are the 2 types of short distance intracellular communication?
direct
- gap junctions
indirect
- chemical messengers released by one cell act on specific receptors of another
What are autocrine signals?
signals that act on the same cell that secreted them
used by immune system
What are paracrine signals?
signals secreted by one cell that diffuse to and act on an adjacent cell
What is the difference between neurotransmitters and neurohormones?
neurotransmitters diffuse across a small gap to the target cell
neurohormones are released into blood for action at distant targets
What is the role of membranes?
separate material and allow exchange of material between cellular and intracellular fluid
What is selective permeability?
allow certain molecules (small, non-polar) to pass through but restrict others (large, polar, ionic) from entering
What is the difference between passive and active transport?
passive:
- spontaneous, downhill, doesn’t require energy
- high to low concentration
active
- non-spontaneous, uphill, requires energy
- against a concentration gradient
What is the chemical driving force?
concentration gradient pushes particles from higher to lower concentration areas
What are the 2 types of ions?
cations - positively charged particle
anions - negatively charged particles
What is membrane potential?
force caused by unequal distribution of charges across the cell membrane
charge separation acts as a source of energy
measured in millivolts
at rest, inside is more negative than the outside
What principles guide the electrical driving force?
opposite charges attract, like charges repel
What does the direction of the electrical driving force depend on?
polarity of the cell
charge on the particle
What does the magnitude of the electrical driving force depend on?
strength of membrane potential
amount of charge on the particle
What is the electrochemical driving force?
sum of electrical and chemical forces
if they act in the same direction:
magnitude is the sum of both
direction is same as both forces
if they act in different directions?
magnitude is the difference between them
direction is that of the stronger force
When will equilibrium potential equal membrane potential? (force = 0)
when electrical and chemical force are equal and in opposite directions
What does the Nernst equation find?
the equilibrium potential of an ion
What is the lumen?
interior cavity of a hollow organ/vessel