Dr.

John Shia
Faculty of Pharmacy
UiTM Selangor
 LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lecture, the students will be able to:

q  List the human body’s organization.

q  State the four major tissue types.

q  Define the conformers and regulators.

q  Define homeostasis and explain its importance to organisms.

q  List the three components or elements of homeostatic control

systems and their functions.

q  Compare and contrast positive and negative feedback

mechanisms.
 Physiology is the study of the functions of living things
(how the human/animal body works).

Why do I shiver when I am cold?

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 Why (or purpose):
To help my body warm up,
shivering generates heat bla
bla bla……

How (or mechanism):

Sensitive nerve cells detect a fall in body
TEMPERATURE, they signal the area in
the brain responsible for thermoregulation.
This brain area activates nerve pathways
bla bla bla……

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 Physiology is the study of the functions of living things (how
the human/animal body works).

Physiologist (specialist) explains HOW processes occur in the

body or mechanism of action.

Physiology is closely related to anatomy (the study of the

structure of the body).

Physiological mechanisms are made possible by the

structural design and relationships of the various body parts
that carry out each of these functions.

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 Physiological Subdisciplines

Cell and molecular physiologists – researchers studying

molecular genetics, signal transduction, metabolic biochemistry,
membrane biophysics and other phenomena that occur at the
cellular level.

Systems physiologists – researchers studying how cells and

tissues interact to carry out specific responsibilities within the
whole animal.

Ecological/ Environmental physiologists – researchers studying

how the physiological properties of an animal influence the
distribution/abundance of species; and how animals mount
physiological responses to environmental challenges.
Integrative physiologists - researchers who attempt to
understand physiological processes at various levels of
biological organization and across multiple physiological
systems.

Developmental physiologists – researchers who study how

structures and functions change as animals grow through the
various stages of life, from embryo to reproductive maturity.

Evolutionary physiologists – researchers who primarily concern

how specific physiological traits arise within lineages over the
course of multiple generations.
 1. Chemical Level

2. Cellular Level

3. Tissue Level

4. Organ Level

5. Body System Level

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 1. Chemical Level: A molecule
in the membrane that encloses
a cell.

•  Various atoms and molecules make up the body.

•  Human/animal body is a combination of specific atoms, which

are the smallest building blocks of the matter.

•  The most common atoms (oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and

nitrogen) make up approximately 96% of the total body
chemistry.

•  These atoms and a few others combine to form the molecules

of life, i.e. proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids.
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 2. Cellular Level Atoms and molecules do not confer the unique
characteristics of life – Instead, the cell is the
fundamental unit of both structure and function in
a living being.

Func%ons of cells

Self- Self - Self- Support &

replica%on regula%on organisa%on movement

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 Structural Protection
support Secretion
Absorption

Support
Movement For communication
coordination
control

3. Tissue Level. Tissue is a group of

cells with similar specialisation.
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 4. Organ Level

•  Organs consist of two or more types of primary tissues

organised together to perform a particular function.

•  For example, the stomach is an organ made up of all four

primary tissue types:

-  Epithelial tissue (molecule exchange)

-  Smooth muscle tissue (contraction)
-  Nervous tissue (controller)
-  Connective tissue (binds all these tissues together).

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 5. Body System Level

•  Each system is a collection of organs that perform related

functions and interact to accomplish a common activity
essential for survival of the whole body.

•  For example, the digestive system consists of the mouth,

pharynx (throat), esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large
intestine, salivary glands, pancreas, liver and gall bladder.

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Why does the human body have so many organ systems?
Self-replica%on Self-organiza%on

Support &
Self -regula%on
movement
 Why does the human body have so many organ systems?

•  Temperature, food availability, and the physiochemical

environment may change with the time of the day, the season,
or the movement of animal/human across the landscape.

•  Multicellular organism can be classified according to the

strategies they use to cope with changing conditions:

1.  Conformers – allow internal conditions to change when faced

with variation in external condition. e.g. Fish Tbodycore

2.  Regulators – maintain relatively constant internal conditions

regardless of the conditions in the external environment.

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 •  Conformers or regulators – each strategy has its benefits
and costs.

•  Conforming is much less expensive than regulating since

physiological responses (as in regulator) demand metabolic
energy.

•  However, environmental changes can have deleterious

effects on physiology – in this case, regulating provides a
much more stable internal environments.

•  Animals may be regulators in one parameter but

conformers in another parameter – e.g. lizards conform to
external temperature but regulate their internal salt
concentrations.

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 •  Homeostasis is the maintenance of internal constancy or the
maintenance of internal conditions in the face of environmental
pertubations.

•  Homeo (the same) + stasis (to stand or to stay) does not imply that
there is no change in the organism but the animal initiates specific
responses to control or regulate a particular variable.

maintained by

BODY SYSTEMS HOMEOSTASIS

is essential for
make up survival of

CELLS
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 External environment – the surrounding environment in
which an organism lives.

Internal environment – the fluid that surrounds the cells and

through which they make life-sustaining exchanges.

Intracellular fluid (ICF) – the fluid collectively

contained within cells.

Extracellular fluid (ECF) – the fluid outside the

cells. i.e. plasma (the fluid portion of the
blood) and interstitial fluid (surrounds and
bathes the cells).
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 •  No matter how remote a cell is from the external
environment, it can make life-sustaining exchanges
with its own surrounding fluid.

Intracellular fluid
Interstitial fluid

Blood
vessel
Plasma

cells

Extracellular fluid

•  In turn, particular body systems accomplish the transfer

of materials between the external environment and the
internal environment.
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 The internal environment must be kept relatively stable but
this does not mean that its composition, temperature and
other characteristics are absolutely unchanging.

DYNAMIC

Homeostatically regulated FACTOR,

being marked by a continuous change.

STEADY
STATE

The changes do not deviate far from a

constant or steady level.
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 •  Water Balance (osmoregula7on)
v  around 90% of blood volume

•  CO2 concentra7on
v  10-13 kPa
•  Body temperature
v  36-38 °C
•  Blood pH
v  pH 7.35 - 7.45

•  Blood glucose concentra7on

v  80-110 mg dl-1 (4.4-6.1 mmol/L )
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 Concentrations of nutrients – Cells need a constant
supply of nutrient molecules for energy production.
Energy, in turn, is needed to support life-sustaining and
specialized cell activities.

Concentration of O2 and CO2 – Cells need O2 to carry

out energy yielding chemical reactions. The CO2
produced during these reaction must be removed so
that acid forming CO2 does not increase the acidity of
the internal environment.

Concentration of waste products – The end products of

some chemical reactions have a toxic effect on body
cells.
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 pH – Changes in the pH of the ECF adversely affect nerve
cell function and cause damage to the enzyme activity of all
cells.

Concentrations of water, salt and other electrolytes – These

concentrations are carefully regulated to maintain the
proper volume of the cells and for electrical conductivity.

Volume and pressure – The circulating component of the

internal environment, the plasma must be maintained at
adequate volume and blood pressure.

Temperature – Body cells function best within a narrow

temperature range.

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 -

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 •  The circulatory system – transports materials (nutrients,
O2, CO2, wastes, electrolytes, hormones).

•  The digestive system – breaks down dietary food;

transfers water & electrolytes from external environment
into the internal environment; eliminates undigested food
residues.

•  The respiratory system – gets O2 from and eliminates

CO2 to the external environment; maintaining the proper
pH of the internal environment.

•  The urinary system – removes excess water, salt, acid

and other electrolytes.
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 •  The skeletal system – Support and protection; storage
reservoir for calcium (an electrolyte whose plasma
concentration must be maintained within narrow limits);
bone marrow (the source of all blood cells).

•  The muscular system – Movements.

•  The integumentary system – Outer protection barrier that

prevents internal fluid from being lost; regulating body
temperature.

•  The immune system – defends against foreign invaders;

paves the way for repairing/replacing injured cells.

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 •  The nervous system – controls and coordinates body
activities that require swift responses.

•  The endocrine system – regulates activities that require

duration rather than speed, such as growth; controlling the
blood concentration of nutrients; adjusting kidney function
etc.

•  The reproductive system – Not essential for homeostasis.

•  The body is a coordinated whole even though each system

provides its own special contributions.

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 Homeostatic control system is a functionally interconnected
network of body components that operate to maintain a
given factor in the internal environment relatively constant
around an optimal level.

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 To maintain homeostasis, the homeostatic control system
must be able to:

1.  detect deviations from normal in the internal environmental

factor that need to be held within narrow limits.

2.  integrate this information with any other relevant

information.

3.  make appropriate adjustments in the activity of the body

parts responsible for restoring this factor to its desired
value.

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Homeostatic control system can be grouped into two classes:

•  Intrinsic or local controls

-  built into or are inherent in an organ (intrinsic means
‘within’).
-  Regulated by the tissue/organ itself.
-  For example, the O2 concentrations within the muscle.

•  Extrinsic or systemic controls

-  Regulatory mechanisms initiated outside an organ to alter an
the organ’s activity (extrinsic means ‘outside of’).
-  Accomplished by the nervous and endocrine systems.
-  For example to restore blood pressure to the proper level.
 Sensor

Integrator

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 Negative feedback – a reaction in which the system responds to
reverse the direction of change.
eg. Body temperature regulation To
restore

Positive feedback - a response is to amplify the change in the

variable.
eg. Birth of mammal To
amplify

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 Fall in body temperature below set point

Detected by temperature-monitoring nerve cells

+
Temperature control center Set Point

+
Skeletal muscles
(and other effectors)
Nega%ve feedback

↑ heat produc%on through shivering and other means

38 ↑ in body temperature to set point

 Signal from mature fetus

Uterus begins contrac%ons

Stretch sensors in cervix are

s%mulated

Contrac%ons
Mother’s hypothalamus enhanced

Pituitary gland

Oxytocin secreted
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 Physiology Study the func7ons and ac7vi7es of various
parts of an organism; how they work together

A dynamic process that maintains a stable

Homeostasis internal environment despite changes in the
external environment.

Set point

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 Maintained by Controlled by

Nervous
Body systems Homeostasis
& Endocrine
system
is essen+al for
survival of
Make
up
Cells Feedback
system

Negative Positive
Feedback Feedback

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 TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Consider a husband and wife sharing a bed, with each one having
an electric blanket. Their controls become switched. When the
husband feels cold, he turns up the control. This warms out his
wife, who turns down her control. This chills the husband who
turns up his control even more. The process continues. For both
the wife and husband, this would be an example of:

A. negative feedback
B. positive feedback.
C. homeostasis.
D. regulated change.
E. integrated control.
 TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING
Describe the interrelationship among cells, body system and
homeostasis.

Discuss the relationship between the internal environment and the ECF.

Define and describe the components of a homeostatic control system.