Introduction to

physiological principles
General properties of living systems
Chemical uniqueness
Living systems demonstrate a unique and complex molecular
organization

Living systems assemble macromolecules

Four major categories of biological macromolecules:

◦ nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids
Complexity and hierarchical organization
living systems demonstrate a unique and complex hierarchical
organization

a hierarchy of levels that includes, in ascending order of complexity,

macromolecules, cells, organisms, populations, and species

different levels of the biological hierarchy and their particular emergent

properties are built by evolution.
A hierarchy of biological
organization
A Hierarchy of Biological Organization

Biological organization is based on a hierarchy of structural levels.

1. Biosphere: all environments on earth

2. Ecosystem: all living and nonliving things in a particular area

3. Community: all organisms in an ecosystem

4. Population: all individuals of a species in a particular area

5. Organism: an individual living thing

A Hierarchy of Biological Organization

6. Organ and organ systems: specialized body parts made up of tissues

7. Tissue: a group of similar cells

8. Cell: life’s fundamental unit of structure and function

9. Organelle: a structural component of a cell

10. Molecule: a chemical structure consisting of atoms

Reproduction
Living systems can reproduce themselves.

Life does not arise spontaneously but comes only from prior life, through
reproduction

Populations reproduce themselves through time to form lineages of

ancestral-descendant populations.
Possession of a genetic program

A genetic program provides fidelity of inheritance

Nucleic acids encode structures of the protein molecules needed for

organismal development and functioning

For animals and most other organisms - DNA stores genetic information
Metabolism
living organisms maintain themselves by acquiring nutrients from their
environments
nutrients supply the chemical energy and molecular components for building
and maintaining a living system
these essential chemical processes metabolism:
◦ digestion, acquisition of energy (respiration) and synthesis of molecules
and structures
Development
All organisms pass through a characteristic life cycle.

Development describes the characteristic changes that an organism

undergoes from its origin (usually the fertilization of an egg by sperm) to its
final adult form
Environmental interaction
All animals interact with their environments.
Ecology - study of organismal interaction with an environment
Factors that influence geographic distribution and abundance of
animals
Reveals how an organism perceives environmental stimuli and
responds in appropriate ways by adjusting its metabolism and
physiology
Movement
Living systems and their parts show precise and controlled
movements arising from within the system
The cell
 Robert Hooke (1665)
 Discovered a honeycomb-like structure in
a cork slice using a primitive compound
microscope

 Cell walls as this was dead tissue

 Coined the term "cell" for these individual

compartments he saw.
 ANTON VAN LEEUVENHOEK- 1676
a Dutch biologist, looks at pond water with a
microscope he made lenses for
made several more discoveries on a microscopic
level
eventually publishing a letter to the Royal Society
included detailed drawings of what he saw

among these was the first protozoa and bacteria

discovered.
A cross-sectional view of a nerve fiber.
 MATTHIAS SCHLEIDEN- 1838

Schleiden was one of the founding fathers of cell theory.

He showed that the development of all vegetable tissues comes
from the activity of cells.
Schleiden emphasized that structures and morphological
features, not processes, give organic life its character.
Schleiden also proved that a nucleated cell is the first element of
the plant embryo
 THEODOR SCHWANN- 1839

Animals made of cells

Schwann cells cover axon of

nerve cell
The Cell Theory
Three Main Components:

All living things are composed of cells.

Cells are the basic units of structure and function in living things.

New cells are produced from existing cells.

Animal cells and tissues
Structure of animal cells
Plant Cells and Tissues
Structure of plant cells
The chemical basis of life
Water and Life

Water is the most abundant of all

compounds in cells, forming 60% to 90%
of most living organisms
Properties
high specific heat capacity: 1 calorie is required to elevate the temperature
of 1 g of water to 1°C

high heat of vaporization, requiring more than 500 calories to convert 1 g of

liquid water to water vapor

unique density behavior during changes of temperature

Properties
high surface tension - water molecules at the surface are more strongly
attracted to each other than to the air above, water molecules at the surface
cling tightly to each other.
Properties
Adhesion - ability of water molecules to cling to other polar surfaces - due to
water’s polarity

Cohesion - ability of water molecules to cling to each other due to hydrogen

bonding
 water exists as a liquid under ordinary conditions of temperature and
pressure
Properties
The organic molecules of life
The organic molecules of life
Carbohydrates
carbohydrates are almost universally used
as an immediate energy source
plants and fungi - have structural functions
In animals polysaccharides are mainly used
for energy storage

Chitin is a structural polysaccharide and is

not used as an energy store.

Cellulose is a structural polysaccharide and

gives the cell wall its strength
Glucose is stored in plants as starch - chain
of glucose molecules that can be
nonbranched or branched.

Glucose is stored in animals as glycogen -

highly branched polymer of glucose
molecules
Proteins

Amino acids – monomers of

proteins
Functions of proteins
Support - some proteins are structural proteins

◦ the protein in spider webs

◦ Keratin - the protein that contributes to hair and fingernails
◦ Collagen - the protein that lends support to skin, ligaments, and tendons
Functions of proteins
Metabolism - many proteins are enzymes.

They bring reactants together and thereby act as catalysts, speeding up

chemical reactions in cells.

Enzymes are specific for particular types of reactions and can function at
body temperature.
Functions of proteins
Transport - channel and carrier proteins in the plasma membrane allow
substances to enter and exit cells.

Other proteins transport molecules in the blood of animals—

hemoglobin, found in red blood cells, is a complex protein that
transports oxygen
Functions of proteins
Defense - Some proteins, antibodies, combine with disease-causing
agents to prevent those agents from destroying cells and causing
diseases and disorders

Regulation - Hormones are regulatory proteins and serve as intercellular

messengers that influence the metabolism of cells.
the hormone insulin regulates the concentration of glucose in the
blood
human growth hormone (hGH) contributes to determining the height of
an individual.
Functions of proteins
Motion - The contractile proteins actin and myosin allow parts of cells to move
and cause muscles to contract

◦ Muscle contraction enables animals to move from place to place and

substances to move through the body.

◦ It also regulates body temperature.

Types of proteins

Fibrous proteins have chains twisted into

spiral shapes held together by strong bonds
to make the molecule look like a spring.

Globular proteins have chains that wind in

and out of each other, twisting into complex
shapes that look like a ball of wood.
Lipids
hydrophobic and insoluble in water - lipids possess long, nonpolar
hydrocarbon chains and a relative lack of hydrophilic functional groups

Lipids are very diverse and have varied structures and functions.

Fats (such as bacon fat, lard, and butter) and oils (such as corn oil,
olive oil, and coconut oil) are some well-known lipids
Lipids
used to insulate marine mammals from cold arctic waters
protect our internal organs from damage

instead of fats, plants use oils for long-term energy storage.

in animals, the secretions of oil glands help waterproof skin, hair,

and feathers
Lipids
Fats and oils: long-term energy storage
 Lipids
Phospholipids: membrane components
contain a phosphate functional group
phospholipid is constructed like a triglyceride,
except that, in place of the third fatty acid
attached to glycerol, there is a charged phosphate
group.
phosphate group is usually bonded to another
polar functional group, indicated by R
Lipids
Steroids: four fused rings
Nucleic acids
Nucleic acids
HOMEOSTASIS
Claude Bernard
first important works were carried out on the
physiology of digestion - the role of the pancreas
exocrine gland, the gastric juices and of the
intestines
concept of “homeostasis”- controlled stability of the
internal milieu, or internal environment, of cells and
tissues
he proposed that "the fixity of the internal
environment is the condition for free life"
Walter Bradford Cannon
he coined the term fight or flight to describe an
animal's response to threats
he expanded on Claude Bernard's concept of
“homeostasis”
he described the ceaseless balancing and
rebalancing of physiological processes that maintain
stability and restore the normal internal state of the
body when it has been disturbed
he gave it a name homeostasis
Homeostasis

two types of environments to consider:

1. external environment - everything outside the body

2. internal environment - cells, tissues, fluids, and organs
Homeostasis
Potential changes in the internal environment arise from two sources:

1. materials from the environment surrounding cells - oxygen, nutrients, and

salts, that are required for metabolic activities, must be continuously
replenished
2. the internal environment changes as it responds to the organism’s
external environment
Homeostasis

cellular homeostasis is maintained by the

coordinated activities of all systems of the body,
except for the reproductive system

various homeostatic activities are coordinated

by the circulatory, nervous, and endocrine
systems, and also by organs that serve as sites
of exchange with the external environment
Homeostasis

through these organs oxygen, nutrients,

minerals, and other constituents of body fluids
enter, water is exchanged, heat is lost, and
metabolic wastes are eliminated
Negative feedback

Small deviations from this set point in pH,

temperature, osmotic pressure, metabolic fuels -
glucose or fatty acids, carbon dioxide, and oxygen
levels activate physiological mechanisms that
return the variable to its set point by a process
called negative feedback regulation
Negative feedback
A negative feedback mechanism has at
least two components:

1. sensor detects a change in the internal

environment (a stimulus)
2. control center initiates an effect that
brings conditions back to normal
Negative feedback
When the pancreas detects that the blood
glucose level is too high, it secretes insulin,
a hormone that causes cells to take up
glucose.

Then the blood sugar level returns to

normal, and the pancreas is no longer
stimulated to secrete insulin.
Positive feedback
Unlike negative feedback, which minimizes
changes in the regulated variable, positive
feedback loops maximize changes in the
regulated variable.

Pathways involving positive feedback loops

begin slowly but rapidly increase in intensity.
Positive feedback
Negative feedback mechanisms tend to
bring the body from a disturbed state to a
balanced state, i.e., it favors balance.

Conversely, positive feedback mechanisms

tend to favor extreme conditions, rather
than establish a balance.
Water and osmotic regulation
water and osmotic regulation provide a means for maintaining internal
solute concentrations within a range that allows cellular function to
proceed
control of an animal’s bodily internal environment includes regulating the
concentrations of hundreds of salts, minerals, and other substances
osmoregulation – involves the delicate processes of water balance
the body temperature must also be maintained within suitable limits so
that biochemical reactions can take place efficiently
Salt and water balance in marine invertebrates
marine invertebrates are in osmotic equilibrium with their seawater
environment
with body surfaces permeable to salts and water, their body-fluid
concentration rises or falls in conformity with changes in concentrations of
seawater
osmoconformers – animals incapable of regulating osmotic pressure of
their body fluid
invertebrates living in the open sea are seldom exposed to osmotic
fluctuations because the ocean is a highly stable environment
Salt and water balance in freshwater
Freshwater animals face challenges similar to but more extreme than
those of the shore crab

They must keep the salt concentration of their body fluids higher than that
of the water in which they live

Water enters their bodies osmotically and salt is lost by outward diffusion
Osmotic regulation in marine and freshwater bony fishes
Osmotic regulation in marine and freshwater bony fishes

A freshwater fish maintains osmotic and ionic

balance in its dilute environment by actively
absorbing sodium chloride across the gills (some
salt enters with food).

To flush out excess water that constantly enters

the body, the glomerular kidney produces dilute
urine by reabsorbing sodium chloride
 Osmotic regulation in marine and freshwater bony fishes

A marine fish must drink seawater to replace

water lost osmotically to its salty environment
Sodium chloride and water are absorbed from
the stomach
Excess sodium chloride is secreted outward
by the gills
Divalent sea salts - magnesium sulfate, are
eliminated with feces and secreted by the
tubular kidney.
Exchange of water and solute in a frog
Water enters the highly permeable skin and is
excreted by kidneys
skin also actively transports ions (sodium
chloride) from the environment
kidneys form dilute urine by reabsorbing
sodium chloride
urine flows into the urinary bladder, where,
during temporary storage, most of the
remaining sodium chloride is removed and
returned to the blood
Salt and water balance in terrestrial animals

terrestrial animals lose water by evaporation from

respiratory and body surfaces, excretion in urine, and
elimination in feces
replace losses by consuming water in food, drinking
water when available and retaining metabolic water
formed in cells by oxidation of metabolic fuel
molecules, such as carbohydrates and fats
in some desert rodents, metabolic water gain may
constitute most of the animals’ water intake
Urinary system and homeostasis

1. Excretion of nitrogenous wastes, such as urea

and uric acid
2. Maintenance of the water-salt balance of the
blood
3. Maintenance of the acid-base balance of the
blood