HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY

Lecturer: V Nuuyoma
UNAM – Rundu Campus
LEARNING OUTCOME 1
 Describethe interrelatedness
between biochemistry and
physiological components of
human functioning

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SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES
 At the end of this lesson, a student should
be able to:
 Explain the following concepts:

 Physiology

 Homeostasis

 Feedback mechanisms

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PHYSIOLOGY AS DEFINED BY MANY
AUTHORS ……….

 Physiology is the scientific study of normal

body function (Fox, 2009).
 Is the study of biological function – how
the body works, from molecular mechanisms
within cells to the actions of tissues, organs
and systems, and how organism as a whole
accomplishes particular tasks essential for life
(Fox & Rompolski, 2022).
PHYSIOLOGY AS DEFINED BY MANY
AUTHORS ……….

 Is defined as the study of functions of various

systems and different organs of the body
(Sembulingam & Sembulingam, 2016)
 Is the study of how the body systems work,
and the ways in which their integrated
activities maintain life and health of the
individual (Waugh & Grant, 2014)
WHY STUDY PHYSIOLOGY???
 Physiology is a major scientific foundation of health
related applications.
 It’s necessary to understand how a cells, tissues,
organs or systems normally functions (normal
physiology) before understanding how the
physiological process become altered due to disease or
injury.
 Pathophysiology – a related science, how diseases
or injuries affect body functions.
 Try to understand the steps in cause – and –effect
processes because physiology is about how
something happens. The emphasis is on mechanisms
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– on exactly how a particular function is performed.
 HOMEOSTASIS (1)
 The physiological processes and regulatory
mechanisms that we study in physiology exist for
a common purpose ⇒ maintaining
homeostasis/internal constancy
 Homeostasis is defined as the dynamic constancy of
the internal environment
 This refers to the active, dynamic physiological
control processes that must fight changes in order to
maintain relatively constant conditions within our
body
 Internal environment ⇢ deep body temperature,
blood volume, blood pressure, concentration of
different molecules 7
SOURCE:
HTTPS://WWW.GOOGLE.COM/IMGRES?IMGURL=HTTP://CMAPSPUBL
IC3.IHMC.US/RID%253D1HCMSGT58-15QD1H0-
 HOMEOSTASIS
 Thus, the emphasis is to study normal values-
because any deviation from normal would imply
no homeostasis
 The concept of homeostasis provides a major
foundation for medical diagnostic procedures

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DISCUSSION: CLINICAL APPLICATION
 What measures do you take to
determine the status of your
clients/patients’ internal
environment to detect homeostasis
imbalance???

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 FEEDBACK MECHANISM
 Homeostasis is maintained by control systems that
detect and respond to changes in the internal
environment.
 There is a dynamic process that allows constant
readjustment of many physiological variables
 Sensors are activated by a deviation from a set point
and an effector responds to oppose that deviation
 This is called negative feedback loop (it operates
in a negative or reverse direction)
 Our physiological mechanisms maintain homeostasis
by operating through negative feedback loops
 Components of negative feedback loop are sensor,
effector and integrating centre
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 See figure 1.6
 In our body, the integrating center is often (but
not always) a particular area of the brain.
 Sensors are cells (often neurons or gland
cells) that respond to specific stimuli, and
 Effectors are usually muscles and glands.
NEGATIVE FEEDBACK CONTROL OF BP
(SOURCE, FOX & ROMPOLSK, 2022)

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NEGATIVE FEEDBACK CONTROL OF BLOOD
GLUCOSE (FOX & ROMPOLSK, 2022)

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 TEMPERATURE CONTROL
 For example, in order to maintain homeostasis of
body temperature, we have neurons that act as
temperature sensors in our brain.
 The integrating center is also located there

 In response to a fall in deep body temperature,

effectors (such as shivering skeletal muscles)
act to raise the body temperature back to the set
point.
 Antagonistic effectors or push-pull –
increased activity of one effector is accompanied
by decreasing activity of an antagonistic effector.
(See page 7 Fox & Rompolsky, 2022 for examples)
 NEGATIVE FEEDBACK LOOP
(TEMPERATURE CONTROL)

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POSITIVE FEEDBACK MECHANISM
 Positive feedback mechanisms operate to amplify
(increase the intensity of) changes
 It causes the change to become greater and greater
 Action of effectors amplifies those changes that
stimulated the effectors.
 Examples:
 Clotting of blood – one clotting factor activates
another to produce a clot ⇛prevent blood loss
⇛maintain homeostasis of blood volume
 Ovulation (anterior pituitary gland and ovaries) –
extrusion of an egg cell from ovary
 Uterine contraction during labor (pituitary gland
and uterus)- to reproduce 17
INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC REGULATION
 Two general categories of regulatory
mechanisms;
 Intrinsic – “built into” the organs being
regulated
 Extrinsic – regulation of organs by the nervous
and endocrine systems i.e neural and
endocrine/hormonal regulation

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NEURAL REGULATION OF HOMEOSTASIS
 Example of negative feedback loop involving
neural control is as follows;
 Suppose there is a fall in blood pressure – for
example, because a person who was lying down
stands up quickly.
 The fall in blood pressure below the set point is
the stimulus that activates the sensors, which
are blood pressure receptors (baroreceptors).
 These stimulate sensory neurons that convey this
information to an integrating center in the brain
(in the medulla oblongata).
NEURAL REGULATION OF
HOMEOSTASIS
 This integrating center then causes motor
(automatic) neurons that slow the heart rate
(parasympathetic neurons) to become less active,
 While neurons that cause a faster heart rate
(sympathetic neurons) become more active.
 As a result, the heart, which is the effector in this
case, increases its rate of beat (positive
chronotropic effect).
 This helps raise the blood pressure back to the
set point, thereby completing the negative
feedback loop.
SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.INTERACTIVE-
BIOLOGY.COM/4301/BLOOD-PRESSURE-SHORT-
TERM-AND-LONG-TERM-CONTROL-MEASURES
ENDOCRINE REGULATION AS AN
EXAMPLE OF HOMEOSTASIS
 Example of a negative feedback loop that
involves a hormone is called endocrine
regulation.
 Suppose that a person eats a candy bar, raising
the blood glucose (sugar) concentration higher
than the set point.
 The change is detected by sensors, which are cells
sensitive to the blood glucose concentration
ENDOCRINE REGULATION OF
HOMEOSTASIS
 In this case, the sensor cells are also the
integrating center and the effector.
 They are the cells located in clusters (called islets
of Langerhans) within the pancreas.
 They secrete the hormone insulin when the blood
glucose concentration rises.
ENDOCRINE REGULATION OF
HOMEOSTASIS
 Insulin then stimulates certain tissues (primarily
skeletal muscles, liver and adipose tissue) to take
glucose out of the blood.
 This lowers the blood glucose concentration,
completing the negative feedback loop.
 Conversely, when a person fasts and the blood
glucose concentration starts to fall, insulin
secretion is decreased.
NEGATIVE FEEDBACK VS POSITIVE
FEEDBACK

 Negative feedback - constancy requires that a

change be compensated by an opposing (negative)
change/action.
 Positive feedback mechanisms operate to
amplify changes.

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SELF STUDY ACTIVITY: TICK THE CORRECT
OPTION
Blood Within an Hypotensive Hypertensive
pressure acceptable
reading for range
an adult

180/110mmH
g
115/80mmHg

70/40mmHg

140/90mmHg
SELF STUDY ACTIVITY: TICK THE CORRECT
ANSWER
Pulse rate for Normal Bradycardia Tachycardia
an adult male
120 beats per
minute [bpm]
50 bpm
70 bpm
80 bpm
SELF STUDY ACTIVITY: TICK THE CORRECT
ANSWER
Blood glucose Euglycemia Hypoglycemia Hyperglycemia
level of an [normal blood
adult healthy glucose level]
person
[Fasting]
7,8mmol/l
3,0 mmol/l
4,5mmol/l
5,1mmol/l
NB: The author of your textbook is American, and the unit of measurement
for glucose is indicated in mg/100ml, or mg /dl. To covert it , you have to
divide the mg/100 by 18.
SELF STUDY ACTIVITY: TICK THE CORRECT
ANSWER
Arteria pH of Normal pH Acidotic Alkalotic
an adult person
7, 20
7, 55
7,39
7,00
SELF STUDY ACTIVITY FROM THE
PRESCRIBED TEXTBOOK

 Identify one contribution to physiology from each

of the following persons:
 Walter Cannon
 Claude Bernard
 Earl Sutherland
REFERENCES
 Fox, S.I & Rompolski, K. 2022. Human
Physiology. Mcgraw- Hill: New York.

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