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Sherwood: Fundamentals of Physiology: A Human Perspective, 3e

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Homeostasis: The Foundation of Physiology

Chapter 1

Physiology is the study of body functions. There are two processes to explain body functions. They are:
teleological - The explanations are in terms of meeting a bodily need. mechanistic - The explanations are in terms of cause and effect sequences.
The body is viewed as a machine.
Both processes, for example, can be applied to body shivering.

Anatomy is the study of the structure of the body. Physiological mechanisms are possible through structural design. Structure-Function relationships of the body include the:
heart receiving and pumping blood
teeth tearing and grinding food

The body is structurally organized into a whole functional unit. Its levels organization are represented in this hierarchy:
organism (the whole body) body system

organ
tissue cell molecule atom (smallest, most specific)

The cell is the basic unit of life.

Basic cell functions are:
obtain food and oxygen perform chemical reactions eliminate carbon dioxide and wastes synthesize proteins and cell components control exchange of materials moving materials sensitive, responsive to environmental changes reproduction

Tissues are groups of cells of similar specializations. There are four primary tissue types.
muscle - 3 kinds: skeletal, cardiac, and smooth
nervous - transmits electrical impulses epithelial - sheets and glands

connective - few cells dispersed in an extracellular matrix

An organ is made up of several tissue types. The stomach is one example of an organ.
The inside surface of the stomach is lined with epithelial tissue. The wall of the stomach contains smooth muscle. Nerve tissue in the stomach controls muscle contraction These tissues are bound together by connective tissue.

A body system is a group of related organs.

The mouth, stomach, and small intestine are some of the organs of the digestive system. The body systems are:
circulatory digestive

respiratory
urinary skeletal muscular

integumentary
immune nervous endocrine

reproductive

Body systems maintain homeostasis. They maintain a dynamic steady state in the internal environment.
The ECF is the internal environment.

Homeostasis is essential for cell survival. Body systems maintain homeostasis.

Cells make up body systems.

Many factors of the internal environment are homeostatically regulated. These factors include:
concentration of: nutrient molecules
oxygen carbon dioxide waste products water salts other electrolytes

pH temperature volume pressure

The human body systems and their contribution to homeostasis are:

circulatory - transports materials (e.g., nutrients, gases) digestive - breaks dietary food into small nutrient molecules. respiratory - obtains oxygen and eliminates carbon dioxide urinary - removes and eliminates wastes from the plasma skeletal - provides support and protection for soft tissues muscular - moves the bones integumentary - serves as an outer protective barrier immune - defends against foreign invaders nervous - controls and coordinates activities rapidly endocrine - regulates activities that require duration

reproductive - perpetuation of the species

Homeostatic control systems operate locally or bodywide. Homeostatic control systems are:
intrinsic - inherent in an organ

extrinsic - outside the organ to alter the activity of the organ

Extrinsic control is accomplished by the nervous and endocrine systems.

Negative feedback opposes an initial change. It maintains homeostasis.

Its components are:
control center sensor effector

The sensor monitors the magnitude of a controlled variable. The control center compares a sensors input with a set point. The effector makes a response to produce a desired effect.

Positive feedback amplifies an initial change. An output is enhanced. A controlled variable moves in the direction of an initial change. One example occurs during the birth of a baby.

Disruption in homeostasis can lead to illness and death. Pathophysiology is the abnormal functioning of the body during disease.