J. Agugliaro
Human Physiology
BIOL 2213-001
Some Definitions
• Physiology = how living organisms work
– physis + logia = “study of nature”
– relationship between the regulated internal
environment and the external env’t
• Pathophysiology
– physiology “gone wrong”
– study of how homeostasis is perturbed by a
disease state
Organization of the Human Body
• cells → tissues → organs → organ systems
A tissue is an
aggregate of a single
specialized cell type
An organ is an
aggregate of different
tissue types
TBW amounts to 42 L in an
average (70 kg, 154 lb) person
ECF
Concentration differences
between the ECF and ICF
are the result of differential
regulation of the two
compartments
Normal ranges of some variables in
the ECF
From Guyton and Hall’s Textbook of Medical Physiology (see also back inside cover of your textbook
for an extensive list of blood variables)
Homeostasis
• Definition:
– the dynamic mechanisms that detect and
respond to deviations in physiological
variables from their “set point” values by
initiating effector responses that restore the
variables to the optimal physiological range
– dynamic constancy
Homeostasis
• History:
– Claude Bernard’s (1878) milieu intérieur: “The
constancy of the internal environment implies a level
of organization of the organism such that external
variations are continually being buffered and
equilibrated. Even though it may appear as if the
animal is quite independent from and insensitive to
the external environment, this is far from the case as
its state of equilibrium results from constant and
delicate adjustments, as with the most sensitive of
balances.”
– Walter Cannon (1929)
Homeostatic Control Mechanisms
1) Negative feedback
2) Positive feedback
3) Feedforward regulation
Homeostatic Control Mechanisms
1) Negative feedback
= regulation of some variable around a set point
− ex: blood pH, pO2, pCO2, BP
− ex: blood [glucose]
− ex: Tb
− ex: enzyme pathways
Fig. 1−3
(afferent) (afferent)
(receptor) (receptor)
(IC)
(efferent)
(efferent)
Effectors:
Non-shivering thermogenesis
Fig. 1−5
Glucose
Glycolysis
enzymes and
intermediates
ATP
Homeostatic Control Mechanisms
2) Positive feedback
→ accelerates some physiological process
− ex: opening of Na+ channels during an
action potential
− ex: effect of oxytocin secretion on uterine
contractions during labor
− ex: blood clotting
Homeostatic Control Mechanisms
3) Feedforward regulation
= anticipatory regulation of a variable
→ improves speed and reduces deviation
from set point
Feedforward Regulation
• Examples:
– peripheral thermoreception
– glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide
(GIP) in response to feeding
– melatonin and control of circadian rhythms
Fig. 1−9
Circadian Rhythms
Anticipatory
rise in Tb as
morning
approaches
Anticipated
higher K+
ingestion
during day
Entrainment of melatonin secretion to a particular night length
causes jet lag following transfer to a novel photic environment
Note
anticipatory
decrease in
[melatonin]
From Nelson et al.’s Seasonal Patterns of Stress, Immune Function, & Disease
Rheostasis
• Mrosovsky (1990):
– “Rheostasis refers to a condition or state in
which, at any one instant, homeostatic
defenses are still present but over a span of
time there is a change in the regulated level.”
– “The body does not always seek constancy of
its internal environment. It does not always
react in ways that prevent change. On the
contrary, sometimes physiological
mechanisms actively promote change.”
Rheostasis
• Examples:
– fever
– decreased Tb during sleep
Fig. 16−19
Negative feedback is
most common
Variance is a necessary
component of regulation
Rheostasis = resetting
of set points
Clashing demands