INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN

PHYSIOLOGY
Dr. Matwa C. O
BSc (Hons); MBChB

OVERVIEW
Concept of normalcy
Descriptive terms
Units of expression

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY

Physiology:

Dealing with the normal life phenomena

exhibited by all living organisms.

Human physiology:

Biological science

Basic science

Dealing with normal life phenomena of the

human body.
Goal of physiology:
explain the physical and chemical factors that
are responsible for the origin, development and
progression of life.

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY

Physiology:
Greek
The

study of nature, the involvement of Physics

and Chemistry.

The

basis for

Pathophysiology
Pharmacology
Immunology

Biochemistry
Microbiology

WHY DO WE STUDY PHYSIOLOGY?

Understand the physiological principle that

underlies the normal function in order to cure the
impairment

Different Level of Physiological Research

Organization of the human body

Cells

Organisms
Organ
(Human body)
Organssystems

Tissues

HUMAN BODY

Comprises a variety of systems that function in

synchrony:

Gastro-intestinal
Respiratory
Urinary
Cardiovascular
Reproductive
Nervous
Endocrine
Musculo-skeletal etc

NORMALCY
Being within certain limits that define the range
of normal functioning
Oxford Illustrated Dictionary, 1962: normal is
what corresponds to the standard, regular, usual,
typical

Medical and sociological concepts

Littre and Robin, 1873: normal is what is in line
with a rule/norm
Laland, 1938: normal is what we see in most
specimens of the same species or what represents
an average or a unit of measure

CONTD
A philosopher discussing a problem of mutual
interest with a physician flatly states, "The
normal is simply the most usual and I have an
inclination to use it that way."
A psychologist states, in his textbook, that the
term normal always refers to the middle of the
distribution and that the idiot is about as
abnormal as the genius.
An educator and a neurologist use the word in a
similar manner.

CONTD

Concept of normality branches into several

source concepts:
Biological

normality
Physiological normality
Anthropological normality
Socio-psychological normality
Legal normatility

OFFER AND SABSHIN

In 1991, they developed a framework to decipher

normalcy
Normality as health:

I.

Equivalent to absence of disease

Normality as utopia

II.

III.

IV.

Optimal functioning

Normality as average

Average of measured variables that are measured

severally over a period of time

Normatology

Scientific study of normality over a life cycle

PHYSIOLOGICAL CONCEPT OF
NORMALCY
To cure means to restore a function or an organism
to a healthy state
concept of complete health = ideal type
Where the physician takes the norm from?

From

his/her own knowledge of physiology

From his/her own perception of organ functions
From a norm currently of general value

We

perceive the life and health of an

individual (and of society) in a way that we
see first the mistakes, irregularities and
violations, and only afterwards do we see
regularities

PHYSIOLOGICAL APPROACHES

Two approaches
Claude

Bernard's idea of the internal environment

"The stability of the internal environment [the milieu

intrieur] is the condition for the free and independent life.

Mullers

and Ludwigs theory

understanding of functioning of internal and

external environment (biological and socioecological) and mans constitution

HOW TO DETERMINE THE BORDERLINE BETWEEN NORMAL AND

PATHOLOGICAL?

Pathological
positive

or negative quantitative deviation from

physiological

Pathological is opposite to normal

marked

by hyper and hypo

Concept of biological reserve

ADOLPHE QUETELET

1835, presented anthropometric theory

measurements

of human trait are grouped according

to the normal curve

This normal variation helped to provide proof

that a population produces enough variation for
artificial or natural selection to operate
Quetelet's established a simple measure for
classifying people's weight relative to an ideal
weight for their height. His proposal, the body
mass index (or Quetelet index), has endured with
minor variations to the present day

CONTD

Biometrical measurements of population:

data

on temperature, basal blood and tissue

metabolism

development of comparative physiology, anatomy, pathology

tabulae biologicae

comparison of individual variables and their

associations with climate and race

CONTD

Normalization
process

of restoring organs, organisms, individuals or

community to a normal state establishment of
biological and physiological processes for normal
functioning of an organism

Theory of normalization
theoretical

labeling

and therapeutic contrast to theory of

Normalization
different

meaning within ethnic groups

DESCRIPTIVE TERMS

Homeostasis

Maintainance

of relatively constant physical/ chemical

conditions of the internal environment

Total body water

fluid

enclosed by the integument

Intracellular fluid (ICF)

Fluid

within cells
Aka cytosol

CONTD

Extracellular fluid (ECF)

All

body fluid outside cells

Aka internal environment, divided into:

Interstitial fluid:
Fluid that bathes and surrounds cells
Aka tissue fluid
Blood Plasma:
pale-yellow fluid component of blood that normally holds the
blood cells in whole blood in suspension
Lymph fluid:
Fluid that circulates through lymphatic system
Trans-cellular fluid:
Fluid that is found within epithelial lined spaces

CONTD

Buffer:
A

substance that has the ability to bind or release H

in solution

Electrolytes:
Molecules

cations

Hyper -..
Greater

Iso-..

Same

Hypo-..
lesser

that dissolve in water to their anions and

CONTD

Amphipathic molecules
contain

both a polar and a non-polar region.

The membrane potential difference

is

defined as the potential inside the cell minus the

potential outside the cell. The difference is
transiently reversed during an Action potential.

CONTD

Diffusion
is

a net transport of atoms or molecules caused by their

random thermal motion in an attempt to equalise
concentration differences (DC).

Flux ( J )
is

the amount of a substance transported along a pressure

gradient through an area unit (A is measured in m2) of a
membrane in moles per second (s). Convective flux is the net
amount of molecules transported through A per time unit
(mol s-1 m-2), caused by a pressure gradient and fluid (liquid
or air) volume transport.
Influx
Efflux

CONTD

An ideal semi-permeable membrane

is

permeable to water only, but impermeable to all solutes.

Most real semi-permeable membranes are permeable to water
and to low molecular substances (crystalloids), but not to
macromolecular substances (colloids such as proteins)

permeable membrane

selectively permeable membrane

allows

the passage of all dissolved substances and the

solvent (mainly water).

is

permeable to a particular compound (sucrose, Na+,

Ca2+, anions only or to cations only).

UNITS OF EXPRESSION

Pressure (P )
is

measured as force per area unit - that is in Newton per

square m or Pascal.

Osmosis
is

transport of solvent molecules (mainly water) through a

semi-permeable membrane. Osmotic pressure (p) is the
hydrostatic pressure, that must be applied to the side of a
rigid ideal semi-permeable membrane with higher solute
concentration in order to stop the water flux, so that the net
water flux is zero.

Volume (V )
in

liters (L).
Standard temperature, pressure, dry (STPD) is an
abbreviation for a volume at standard temperature of 273 K,
standard pressure of 101.3 kPa or 760 mmHg, and dry air

UNITS OF EXPRESSION

Concentration:
Mass

or mole of a substance per unit of fluid volume

[K] for potassium 4.3mmol/L

Mole (mol)
Gram-molecular

weight of a substance
Amount of the substance that contains Avogadros
number 6.022 x 1023 molecules per mol
1 mole of CaCO3 = 40g + 12g + (8*3)24g =76g

Molecular weight
The

ratio of the mass of one molecule of a substance

to 1/12 of the mass of an atom of C-12

Dalton (Da) [atomic mass unit]

A

unit of mass equal to 1/12 the mass of an atom of C12

CONTD

Equivalence (eq)
Electrical

eq:

1eq is 1mol of an ionized substance divided by its valence

1eq of Ca2+ = 40g/2 = 20g

Chemical

eq:

A gram eq is the weight of a substance thats chemically

equivalent to 8g of oxygen

Normality of a solution (N)

Number

of gram equivalents in 1L
Number of equivalents per liter (eqL-1)

CONTD

Molarity (M)
Number

of moles of a substance totally dissolved per

liter of solution
mol/L

Molality

Number

of moles of a substance totally dissolved per

kilogram (kg) of solvent

CONTD

Osmoles (Osm):
One

Osm equals gram-molecular weight of a substance

divided by the number of freely moving particles that
each molecule liberates in solution
NaCl liberates 2 Osm

Osmolarity
Number

of osmotically active particles (Osm) dissolved

in a liter of solution
Osm/L

Osmolality
Measure

of osmotically active particles in 1kg of solvent

Solvent mostly water (plasma fluid)
Osm/kgH2O

CONTD

1milli-..

1/1000

(10-3) of a measure
1milligram = 0.001g
m

1micro-..

1/1,000,000

(10-6) of a measure
1microgram = 0.000001g

1kilo-..
1000

(103) of a measure
1kilogram = 1000g
kg

Thank YOU