Physiology unit 1

general physiology:
basic concepts
RITI ANNE THOMAS
M.SC NURSING
LECTURER
 a science that deals with the ways that living things function
 the ways that living things or any of their parts function
 Full Definition of physiology
 1: a branch of biology that deals with the functions and activities of life or of living matter (such as
organs, tissues, or cells) and of the physical and chemical phenomena involved.
 the organic processes and phenomena of an organism or any of its parts or of a particular bodily
process.

 Meaning of physiology
 The Latin root physio- generally means "physical", so human physiology deals with just about
everything that keeps us alive and working, and other physiology specialties do the same for other
animals and for plants. To do anything serious in the field of health, you've obviously got to know how
the body's organs and cells function normally. Physiology used to be considered separately from
anatomy, which focuses on the body's structures; however, it's now known that structure and function
can't easily be separated in a scientific way, so "anatomy and physiology" are often spoken of in the
same breath.
 CELL PHYSIOLOGY
 Cell physiology is a biological science in which you study live cells, tissues and the functions of organs and
organ systems to learn how the body works.
 CELL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
 What is a Cell?
 Cells are the microscopic fundamental units of all living things. Every living thing has cells:
bacteria, protozoans, fungi, plants, and animals are the main groups (Kingdoms) of living
things. Some organisms are made up of just one cell (e.g. bacteria and protozoans), but
animals, including human beings, are multicellular. An adult human body is composed of
about 100,000,000,000,000 cells! Each cell has basic requirements to sustain it, and the body's
organ systems are largely built around providing the many trillions of cells with those basic
needs (such as oxygen, food, and waste removal).
 There are about 200 different kinds of specialized cells in the human body. When many
identical cells are organized together it is called a tissue (such as muscle tissue, nervous tissue,
etc). Various tissues organized together for a common purpose are called organs (e.g. the
 Specialized Cells of the Human Body:
 Nerve Cells
 Epithelial cells:
• Exocrine cells: T
 Endocrine cells
 Blood Cells: RED AND WHITE BLOOD CELLS
 Cell Size:
 Cells are the smallest living units within our body, but play a big role in making
our body function properly. Many cells never have a large increase in size after
they are first formed from a parental cell. Typical stem cells reproduce, double in
size, then reproduce again. Most Cytosolic contents such as the endomembrane
system and the cytoplasm easily scale to larger sizes in larger cells.
 Cellular Organization:
 Cell Membranes The boundary of the cell, sometimes called the plasma membrane, separates
internal metabolic events from the external environment and controls the movement of
materials into and out of the cell. This membrane is very selective about what it allows to pass
through; this characteristic is referred to as "selective permeability." For example, it allows
oxygen and nutrients to enter the cell while keeping toxins and waste products out. The plasma
membrane is a double phospholipid membrane, or a lipid bilayer, with the nonpolar
hydrophobic tails pointing toward the inside of the membrane and the polar hydrophilic heads
forming the inner and outer surfaces of the membrane.
 Protein and Cholesterol Proteins and cholesterol molecules are scattered throughout the
flexible phospholipid membrane. Peripheral proteins attach loosely to the inner or outer surface
of the plasma membrane. Integral proteins lie across the membrane, extending from inside to
outside. A variety of proteins are scattered throughout the flexible matrix of phospholipid
molecules, somewhat like icebergs floating in the ocean, and this is termed the fluid mosaic
model of the cell membrane.
 The phospholipid bilayer is selectively permeable. Only small, uncharged polar molecules can pass freely across
the membrane. Some of these molecules are H2 O and CO2 , hydrophobic (nonpolar) molecules like O2 , and
lipid soluble molecules such as hydrocarbons. Other molecules need the help of a membrane protein to get across.
There are a variety of membrane proteins that serve various functions:
 • Channel proteins: Proteins that provide passageways through the membranes for certain hydrophilic or water-
soluble substances such as polar and charged molecules. No energy is used during transport, hence this type of
movement is called facilitated diffusion.
 • Transport proteins: Proteins that spend energy (ATP) to transfer materials across the membrane. When energy is
used to provide passageway for materials, the process is called active transport.
 • Recognition proteins: Proteins that distinguish the identity of neighboring cells. These proteins have
oligosaccharide or short polysaccharide chains extending out from their cell surface. •
 Adhesion proteins: Proteins that attach cells to neighboring cells or provide anchors for the internal filaments and
tubules that give stability to the cell.
 • Receptor proteins: Proteins that initiate specific cell responses once hormones or other trigger molecules bind to
them.
 • Electron transfer proteins: Proteins that are involved in moving electrons from one molecule to another.
 Passive Transport Across the Cell Membrane
 Passive transport describes the movement of substances down a concentration gradient and does not require
energy use.
 • Bulk flow is the collective movement of substances in the same direction in response to a force, such as
pressure. Blood moving through a vessel is an example of bulk flow.
 Simple diffusion, or diffusion, is the net movement of substances from an area of higher concentration to an area
of lower concentration. This movement occurs as a result of the random and constant motion characteristic of all
molecules, (atoms or ions) and is independent from the motion of other molecules
 Facilitated diffusion is the diffusion of solutes through channel proteins in the plasma membrane. Water can pass
freely through the plasma membrane without the aid of specialized proteins (though facilitated by aquaporins).
 Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules across a selectively permeable membrane. When water moves into a
body by osmosis, hydrostatic pressure or osmotic pressure may build up inside the body. • Dialysis is the
diffusion of solutes across a selectively permeable membrane.
 Dialysis is the diffusion of solutes across a selectively permeable membrane.

 Active Transport Across the Cell Membrane

 Active transport is the movement of solutes against a gradient and requires the expenditure of energy, usually in
the form of ATP. Active transport is achieved through one of these two mechanisms:
 Protein Pumps • Transport proteins in the plasma membrane transfer solutes such as small ions (Na+ , K+ , Cl- ,
H+ ), amino acids, and monosaccharides. • The proteins involved with active transport are also known as ion
pumps. • The protein binds to a molecule of the substance to be transported on one side of the membrane, then it
uses the released energy (ATP) to change its shape, and releases it on the other side.
 The protein pumps are specific, there is a different pump for each molecule to be transported.
 Vesicular Transport • Vesicles or other bodies in the cytoplasm move macromolecules or large
particles across the plasma membrane. Types of vesicular transport include:
 1. Exocytosis, which describes the process of vesicles fusing with the plasma membrane and
releasing their contents to the outside of the cell. This process is common when a cell produces
substances for export.

 2. Endocytosis, which describes the capture of a substance outside the cell when the plasma
membrane merges to engulf it. The substance subsequently enters the cytoplasm enclosed in a
vesicle.
 There are three kinds of endocytosis:
 • Phagocytosis or cellular eating, occurs when the dissolved materials enter the cell. The plasma membrane
engulfs the solid material, forming a phagocytic vesicle.
• Pinocytosis or cellular drinking occurs when the plasma membrane folds inward to form a channel allowing
dissolved substances to enter the cell. When the channel is closed, the liquid is encircled within a pinocytic vesicle.
• Receptor-mediated endocytosis occurs when specific molecules in the fluid surrounding the cell bind to specialized
receptors in the plasma membrane. As in pinocytosis, the plasma membrane folds inward and the formation of a
vesicle follows.
 Parts of the Cell:
 Cytoplasm:
 The gel-like material within the cell membrane is referred to as the cytoplasm. It is a fluid
matrix, the cytosol, which consists of 80% to 90% water, salts, organic molecules and many
enzymes that catalyze reactions, along with dissolved substances such as proteins and
nutrients. The cytoplasm plays an important role in a cell, serving as a "molecular soup" in
which organelles are suspended and held together by a fatty membrane.
 Within the plasma membrane of a cell, the cytoplasm surrounds the nuclear envelope and the
cytoplasmic organelles. It plays a mechanical role by moving around inside the membrane and
pushing against the cell membrane helping to maintain the shape and consistency of the cell
and again, to provide suspension to the organelles.
 It is also a storage space for chemical substances indispensable to life, which are involved in
vital metabolic reactions, such as anaerobic glycolysis and protein synthesis. The cell
membrane keeps the cytoplasm from leaking out. It contains many different organelles which
are considered the insoluble constituents of the cytoplasm, such as the mitochondria,
lysosomes, peroxysomes, ribosomes, several vacuoles and cytoskeletons, as well as complex
cell membrane structures such as the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus that each
have specific functions within the cell.
 Organelles
 Organelles are bodies embedded in the cytoplasm that serve to physically separate the various metabolic activities
that occur within cells. The organelles are each like separate little factories, each organelle is responsible for
producing a certain product that is used elsewhere in the cell or body.
 Cells of all living things are divided into two broad categories: prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Bacteria (and archea)
are prokaryotes, which means they lack a nucleus or other membrane-bound organelles.
 Eukaryotes include all protozoans, fungi, plants, and animals (including humans), and these cells are
characterized by a nucleus (which houses the chromosomes) as well as a variety of other organelles. Human cells
vary considerably.
 Nucleus :
 Controls the cell; houses the genetic material (DNA). The nucleus is the largest of the cells organelles. Cells can
have more than one nucleus or lack a nucleus all together. Skeletal muscle cells contain more than one nucleus
whereas red blood cells do not contain a nucleus at all.
 The nucleus is bounded by the nuclear envelope, a phospholipid bilayer similar to the plasma membrane. The
space between these two layers is the nucleolemma Cisterna. The nucleus contains the DNA, as mentioned above,
the hereditary information in the cell. Normally the DNA is spread out within the nucleus as a threadlike matrix
called chromatin
 CHROMOSOMES
 :Inside each cell nucleus are chromosomes. Chromosomes are made up of chromatin, which is made up of protein
and deoxyribonucleic acid strands.
 Ribosomes:
 Ribosomes play an active role in the complex process
 of protein synthesis, where they serve as the structures that facilitate
 the joining of amino acids. Each ribosome is composed of a large and
 small subunit which are made up of ribosomal
 proteins and ribosomal RNAs.
 Mitochondria Mitochondria are the organelles that function as the cell "powerhouse", generating ATP, the
universal form of energy used by all cells. It converts food nutrients such as glucose, to a fuel (ATP) that the
cells of the body can use. Mitochondria are tiny sac-like structures found near the nucleus. Little shelves called
cristae are formed from folds in the inner membrane. Mitochondria are unique in that they have their own
mitochondrial DNA (separate from the DNA that is in the nucleus)
 Endoplasmic Reticulum Endoplasmic means "within the plasm" and reticulum means "network". A complex
three dimensional internal membrane system of flattened sheets, sacs and tubes, that play an important role in
making proteins and shuttling cellular products; also involved in metabolisms of fats, and the production of
various materials.
 In cross-section, they appear as a series of maze-like channels, often closely associated with the nucleus. When
ribosomes are present, the rough ER attaches polysaccharide groups to the polypeptides as they are assembled by
the ribosomes.
 Smooth ER, without ribosomes, is responsible for various activities, including the synthesis of lipids and
hormones, especially in cells that produce these substances for export from the cell.
 Rough endoplasmic reticulum has characteristic bumpy appearance due to the multitude of ribosomes coating it.
It is the site where proteins not destined for the cytoplasm are synthesized.
 Golgi Apparatus "Packages" cellular products in sacs called vesicles so that the products can cross the cell
membrane and exit the cell.
 The Golgi apparatus is the central delivery system for the cell. It is a group of flattened sacs arranged much like a
stack of bowls.
 They function to modify and package proteins and lipids into vesicles, small spherically shaped sacs that bud
from the ends of a Golgi apparatus. TRANSPORT LIPIDS and creates lysosomes and organelles.
 Vacuoles Spaces in the cytoplasm that sometimes serve to carry materials to the cell membrane for discharge to
the outside of the cell. Vacuoles are formed during endocytosis when portions of the cell membrane are pinched
off.
 Lysosomes Lysosomes are sac-like compartments that contain a number of powerful degradative enzymes. They
are built in the Golgi apparatus. They break down harmful cell products and waste materials, cellular debris, and
foreign invaders such as bacteria, and then force them out of the cell.
 Peroxisomes Organelles in which oxygen is used to oxidize substances, breaking down lipids and detoxifying
certain chemicals. Peroxisomes self replicate by enlarging and then dividing. They are common in liver and
kidney cells that break down potentially harmful substances
 EXTRACELLULAR STRUCTURES
 • Extracellular matrix
 Human cells, like other animal cells, do not have a rigid cell wall. Human cells do have an important and variable
structure outside of their cell membrane called the extracellular matrix.
 • Flagella Many prokaryotes have flagella, allowing, for example, an E. coli bacteria to propel its way up the
urethra to cause a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection). Human cells, however (and in fact most eukaryotic cells) lack
flagella.
 • Cilia :Cilia are especially notable on the single-celled protozoans, where they beat in synchrony to move the
cells nimbly through the water. They are composed of extensions of the cell membrane that contain microtubules.
When present in humans they are typically found in large numbers on a single surface of the cells, where rather
than moving cells, they move materials.
 Cell Junctions : The plasma membranes of adjacent cells are usually separated by extracellular fluids that allow
transport of nutrients and wastes to and from the bloodstream. In certain tissues, however, the membranes of
adjacent cells may join and form a junction.
 Desmosomes are protein attachments between adjacent cells.eg. Heart muscle
 Tight junctions are tightly stitched seams between cells. Eg. In digestive tract.
 Gap junctions are narrow tunnels that directly connect the cytoplasm of 2 neighbouring cells
 Human beings are creatures that are primarily composed of water. It is the essence of life and the aqueous base
solution in which all essential biochemical processes occur that produce life. Humans are approximately 75%
water by mass as infants and 50% to 60% water by mass as adults. Furthermore, fluid is always in flux through a
variety of regulatory mechanisms to maintain appropr
 Fluid Compartments
 Body fluids can be discussed in terms of their specific fluid compartment, a location that is largely separate from
another compartment by some form of a physical barrier. The intracellular fluid (ICF) compartment is the system
that includes all fluid enclosed in cells by their plasma membranes.
 Extracellular fluid (ECF) surrounds all cells in the body. Extracellular fluid has two primary constituents: the
fluid component of the blood
 (called plasma) and the interstitial fluid (IF) that
 surrounds all cells not in the blood.
 ECF=IF+ PLASMA
 Intracellular Fluid
 The ICF lies within cells and is the principal component of the cytosol/cytoplasm. The ICF
makes up about 60 percent of the total water in the human body, and in an average-size adult
male, the ICF accounts for about 25 liters (seven gallons) of fluid (Figure 26.1.3). This fluid
volume tends to be very stable, because the amount of water in living cells is closely regulated.
If the amount of water inside a cell falls to a value that is too low, the cytosol becomes too
concentrated with solutes to carry on normal cellular activities; if too much water enters a cell,
the cell may burst and be destroyed.
 Extracellular Fluid
 The ECF accounts for the other one-third of the body’s water content. Approximately 20
percent of the ECF is found in plasma. Plasma travels through the body in blood vessels and
transports a range of materials, including blood cells, proteins (including clotting factors and
antibodies), electrolytes, nutrients, gases, and wastes. Gases, nutrients, and waste materials
travel between capillaries and cells through the IF. Cells are separated from the IF by a
selectively permeable cell membrane that helps regulate the passage of materials between the
IF and the interior of the cell. pericardial fluid in the cardiac sac
 Composition of Body Fluids
 The compositions of the two components of the ECF—plasma and IF—are more similar to each other than either
is to the ICF (Figure 26.1.4). Blood plasma has high concentrations of sodium, chloride, bicarbonate, and protein.
 The IF has high concentrations of sodium, chloride, and bicarbonate, but a relatively lower concentration of
protein. In contrast, the ICF has elevated amounts of potassium, phosphate, magnesium, and protein.
 Overall, the ICF contains high concentrations of potassium and phosphate (HPO42−HPO42−), whereas both
plasma and the ECF contain high concentrations of sodium and chloride.
 Fluid Movement between Compartments
 Hydrostatic pressure, the force exerted by a fluid against a wall, causes movement of fluid between
compartments. The hydrostatic pressure of blood is the pressure exerted by blood against the walls of the blood
vessels by the pumping action of the heart.
 In capillaries, hydrostatic pressure (also known as capillary blood pressure) is higher than the opposing “colloid
osmotic pressure” in blood—a “constant” pressure primarily produced by circulating albumin—at the arteriolar
end of the capillary. This pressure forces plasma and nutrients out of the capillaries and into surrounding tissues.
 Fluid and the cellular wastes in the tissues enter the capillaries at the venule end, where the hydrostatic pressure
is less than the osmotic pressure in the vessel. Filtration pressure squeezes fluid from the plasma in the blood to
the IF surrounding the tissue cells.
 The surplus fluid in the interstitial space that is not returned directly back to the capillaries is drained from
tissues by the lymphatic system, and then re-enters the vascular system at the subclavian veins.
 Fluid also moves between compartments along an osmotic gradient. Recall that
an osmotic gradient is produced by the difference in concentration of all solutes
on either side of a semi-permeable membrane. The magnitude of the osmotic
gradient is proportional to the difference in the concentration of solutes on one
side of the cell membrane to that on the other side.
 Water will move by osmosis from the side where its concentration is high (and
the concentration of solute is low) to the side of the membrane where its
concentration is low (and the concentration of solute is high). I
n the body, water moves by osmosis from plasma to the IF (and the reverse) and
from the IF to the ICF (and the reverse). In the body, water moves constantly
into and out of fluid compartments as conditions change in different parts of the
body.
 One “turn” or cycle of the cell cycle consists of three general phases: interphase, mitosis, and
cytokinesis.
 Interphase is the period of the cell cycle during which the cell is not dividing. The majority of
cells are in interphase most of the time.
 Mitosis is the division of genetic material, during which the cell nucleus breaks down and two
new, fully functional, nuclei are formed.
 Cytokinesis divides the cytoplasm into two distinctive cells.
 Interphase
 A cell grows and carries out all normal metabolic functions and processes in a period called
G1 (Figure 3.23). G1 phase (gap 1 phase) is the first gap, or growth phase in the cell cycle. For
cells that will divide again, G1 is followed by replication of the DNA, during the S phase.
The S phase (synthesis phase) is period during which a cell replicates its DNA.
 Mitosis and Cytokinesis
 The mitotic phase of the cell typically takes between 1 and 2 hours. During this phase, a cell undergoes two
major processes. First, it completes mitosis, during which the contents of the nucleus are equitably pulled apart
and distributed between its two halves
 . Cytokinesis then occurs, dividing the cytoplasm and cell body into two new cells. Mitosis is divided into four
major stages that take place after interphase and in the following order: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and
telophase. The process is then followed by cytokinesis.
 TISSUES IN THE HUMAN BODY:
 Tissues are groups of similar cells that have a common function. The four basic tissue types are epithelial, muscle,
connective, and nervous tissue. Each tissue type has a characteristic role in the body:
 Epithelium covers the body surface and lines body cavities.
 Muscle provides movement.
 Connective tissue supports and protects body organs.
 Nervous tissue provides a means of rapid internal communication by transmitting electrical impulses.
 How body tissues grow
 Body tissues grow by increasing the number of cells that make them up. Cells in many tissues in the body divide
and grow very quickly until we become adults.
 When we are adults many cells mature and become specialised for their particular job in the body. So they don't
make copies of themselves (reproduce) so often. But some cells, such as skin cells or blood cells are dividing all
the time.
 When cells become damaged or die the body makes new cells to replace them. This process is called cell
division. One cell doubles by dividing into two. Two cells become four and so on. The diagram below shows cells
dividing.
 How cells grow and divide
 When cells divide and grow they do this very precisely so that the new cells are exactly the
same as the old ones.
 Each cell makes copies of all its genes. Then each cell splits into 2 with one set of genes in
each new cell. During the process, there are lots of checks to make sure that everything has
copied correctly. But sometimes mistakes happen, which can lead to cancer.
 How cells stop growing
 Normal growth and healing is well ordered and precise. The cells know when:
 there are enough new cells to heal a cut
 a structure such as a finger is fully grown
 Cells send chemical messages to each other so that they stop growing and dividing when
growth or healing is complete. The diagram below shows this happening.
 Phases of the TISSUE REPAIR PROCESSS
 The TISSUE REPAIR process can be characterized by four overlapping phases:
 An initial response to maintain homoeostasis.
 An inflammatory response to prevent infection.
 A proliferative phase to reconstitute the wound site.
 A remodelling phase where tissue strength and function are restored.
 Homoeostasis
 Upon wounding, the first phase of the wound response is concerned with maintaining homoeostasis within the
body. Most wounds, even superficial shallow wounds, result in damage to the circulatory system. To prevent
blood loss and reduce the chance of infection spreading throughout the body, circulation platelets within the
blood begin to form a fibrin clot, which seals the wound site.
 Inflammatory
 Immune cells, such as neutrophils and macrophages, are attracted by factors released from the wound site and
begin to accumulate, travelling through the circulatory system. These cells are responsible for the removal of
debris and killing of bacteria that easily colonize the wound site, and prepare the wound for the
proliferative/remodelling phase.
 Proliferative
 The proliferative phase can itself be divided into four phases; I
 Re-vascularisation:
 Granulation:
 Re-epithelialization:
 Contraction
 Remodeling
 Following closure of the wound, remodeling can occur. The epidermis proliferates and returns to its normal
character; fibroblasts and immune cells which were recruited to the site are degraded; and the temporary extra
cellular matrix that was laid down is remodelled into a stronger, more permanent structure.
 The above mechanism describes a best-case scenario that results in the restoration of a fully functional dermis and
epidermis. However, as the main aim of the wound healing process in the initial stage is to prevent further damage
or infection, the intial stages can lead to a less than optimum result, as evidenced by the formation of scars. The
larger and more severe the wound the more likely this is to occur.
 membrane in biology, the thin layer that forms the outer boundary of a living cell or of an internal cell
compartment. The outer boundary is the plasma membrane, and the compartments enclosed by internal
membranes are called organelles.
 Biological membranes have three primary functions
 : (1) they keep toxic substances out of the cell;
 (2) they contain receptors and channels that allow specific molecules, such as ions, nutrients, wastes,
and metabolic products, that mediate cellular and extracellular activities to pass between organelles and
between the cell and the outside environment; and
 (3) they separate vital but incompatible metabolic processes conducted within organelles.
 Membranes consist largely of a lipid bilayer, which is a double layer of phospholipid, cholesterol, and
glycolipid molecules that contains chains of fatty acids and determines whether a membrane is formed
into long flat sheets or round vesicles.
 Lipids give cell membranes a fluid character, with a consistency approaching that of a light oil. The
fatty-acid chains allow many small, fat-soluble molecules, such as oxygen, to permeate the membrane,
but they repel large, water-soluble molecules, such as sugar, and electrically charged ions, such as
calcium.
 GLANDS

 A gland is an organ that makes and puts out hormones that do a specific job in your body. Endocrine and
exocrine glands release the substances they make into your bloodstream. FUNCTIONS OF GLANDS:
 Makes hormones that control your moods, growth and development, metabolism, organs, and reproduction
 Controls how your hormones are released
 Sends those hormones into your bloodstream so they can travel to other body parts
 Hypothalamus. Adrenals.
Pancreas., Ovaries., TESTES
 Pituitary gland
 Pineal gland.
 Thyroid gland.
 Parathyroid
 Thymus.
 IMPLICATIONS TO NURSING: HELPS TO UNDERSTAND
 The functions of the human body
 The framework of body parts
 Location of various organs
 Location of cells and tissues
 Knowledge regarding body systems like the nervous system, respiratory system, digestive system, reproductive
system, etc.
 Understandings regarding various bones and joints, and a lot more.
 Fundamental Knowledge
 Theoretical & Practical Knowledge
 Conditions of Emergencies
 Tracking of Patient’s Health
 Improves Medical & Clinical Skills
 Quick Recognition & Analysis of the Cause of Illness