HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY-I

Introduction……………………..
Human physiology is the science of the mec
hanical, physical, and biochemical functions
of normal humans or human tissues or orga
ns. The principal level of focus of physiolog
y is at the level of organs and systems. Hum
an physiology, specifically, is often separated
into subcategories; these topics cover a vast
amount of information.
Introduction……………………..
Biological systems
The major systems covered in the study of human physiology are as foll
ows:
•Circulatory system - including the heart, the blood vessels, properties
of the blood, and how circulation works in sickness and health.
•Digestive/excretory system - charting the movement of solids from th
e mouth to the anus; this includes study of the spleen, liver, and pancrea
s, the conversion of food into fuel and its final exit from the body.
Endocrine system - the study of endocrine hormones that carry signals
throughout the organism, helping it to respond in concert. The principal e
ndocrine glands - the pituitary, thyroid, adrenals, pancreas, parathyroids,
and gonads - are a major focus, but nearly all organs release endocrine
hormones.
Immune system - the body's natural defense system is comprised of wh
ite blood cells, the thymus, and lymph systems. A complex array of rece
ptors and molecules combine to protect the host from attacks by pathog
ens. Molecules such as antibodies and cytokines feature heavily.
Cont.……………………………..
•Integumentary system - the skin, hair, nails, sweat glands, and sebac
eous glands (secreting an oily or waxy substance).
•Musculoskeletal system - the skeleton and muscles, tendons, ligame
nts, and cartilage. Bone marrow - where red blood cells are made - and
how bones store calcium and phosphate are included.
•Nervous system - the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)
and the peripheral nervous system. Study of the nervous system includ
es research into the senses, memory, emotion, movement, and thought.
•Renal/urinary system - including the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and ur
ethra, this system removes water from the blood, produces urine, and c
arries away waste.
•Reproductive system - consisting of the gonads and the sex organs.
Study of this system also includes investigating the way a fetus is creat
ed and nurtured for 9 months.
•Respiratory system - consisting of the nose, nasopharynx, trachea, a
nd lungs. This system brings in oxygen and expels carbon dioxide and
water.
 Circulatory System
• The Circulatory System is responsible f
or transporting materials throughout
the entire body.
• Consists of organs and tissues that tra
nsport essential materials to body cell
s and remove their waste products.
• This body system is also known as the
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM.
Parts of the Circulatory Syste
m
Heart: your heart pumps b Pulmonary Circulation: th
lood through two major p e flow blood from the hea
athways. rt to the lungs and back to
the heart.
Systemic Circulation: is th
Blood Vessels
e flow of blood to all the b
ody tissues except the lun
Blood gs.
Pulmonary Circulation
Pulmonary circulation transpor
ts oxygen-poor blood from the
right ventricle to the lungs whe
re blood picks up a new oxygen
supply. Then it returns oxygen
rich blood to the left atrium.
Systemic Circulation
Systemic circulation provid
es a functional blood suppl
y to all body tissue.
It carries oxygen and nutrie
nts to the cells.
It picks up carbon dioxide a
nd waste products.
How the Circulatory System Works
Germ fighters (antibodies) fro
m different parts of the body h
elp to fight infection and diseas
e.
Wastes are carried to the liver
and kidneys for removal from t
he body.
Carbon Dioxide, a waste gas, is
carried away and delivered to t
he lungs, which remove it from
the body.
Cont.…………………………………………………
….

• Hormones from glands help re

gulate cell activity.
• Oxygen from the lungs combin
es with nutrients to provide en
ergy.
• Nutrients from the digestive s
ystem provide food for the cel
ls.
The Heart
Consists of four chambers in which blood flows.

Blood enters the R atrium and passes thr

ough the right ventricle.
The R ventricle pumps the blood to the lu
ngs where it becomes oxygenated.
The oxygenated blood is brought back to
the heart by the pulmonary veins which e
nter the L atrium.
From the L atrium blood flows to the L ve
ntricle.
The L ventricle pumps blood to the aorta
which distributes the oxygenated blood t
hroughout the rest of the body.
Arteries, Veins, and Capillaries
Blood Vessels
Over 80,000 miles of blood vessels transport your blood throughout your body. There are 3 types of blood vessels.

Capillaries: Tiny tubes tha

t carry blood from the art
Arteries: Blood vessels tha eries to the body’s cells, a
t carry blood away from t nd then back to the veins.
he heart to other parts of
the body.
Veins: Blood vessels that c
arry blood from the body
back to the heart.
Blood Pressure
As blood is moved through your body, it exerts pressure against the walls of blood vessels.

Systolic Pressure: as your heart

contracts to push blood into you
r arteries, your blood pressure is
at its highest point.

Diastolic Pressure: As your heart

relaxes to refill, blood pressure i
s at its lowest point.
Problems of the Circulatory System

Hypertension: is a condition in which blood pressure is consiste

ntly higher than normal, which can lead to heart attack, stroke,
or kidney failure.
Stroke usually results from blood clots that block vessels in the
brain, or from the rupture of a blood vessel.
Heart Attack is a blockage of the flow of blood to the heart.
Problems of the Circulatory System

Anemia is an abnormally low level of hemoglobin, a protein tha

t binds to oxygen in red blood cells.
Leukemia is a disease in which extra white blood cells are produ
ced.
Hemophilia is a disease in which the blood plasma does not con
tain substances that help the blood to clot.
Vocabulary
Arteries are tubes that carry blood away from the heart
Veins are tubes that return blood to the heart
Capillaries connect arteries and veins. They are tiny tubes that
exchange food, oxygen and wastes between blood and body c
ells.
Pulmonary circulation is the movement of blood between the
heart and lungs
Coronary circulation is the movement of blood from within th
e heart chambers to the heart tissues themselves
Systemic circulation is the movement of blood between the h
eart and the rest of the body
Interstitial fluid - is an isotonic solution which bathes and surr
ounds the cells of multicellular animals.
 The Blood
The blood is an amazing substance that is constantly fl
owing through our bodies.
Your blood is pumped by your heart.
Your blood carries nutrients, water, oxygen and waste
products to and from your body cells.
Your body has about 5.6 liters (6 quarts) of blood. This
5.6 liters of blood circulates through the body three ti
mes every minute.
Cont.………………………….
Blood Consists of 60% Plasma and 40% cells and platelets
Plasma – Liquid portion of blood
Cells and Platelets:
Red Blood Cell (RBCs) or Erythrocytes
White Blood Cells (WBCs) or Leukocytes
Platelets – creates clots
Plasma…………………………..
Plasma is 90% water and 10% dissolved materials
including proteins, glucose, ions, hormones, and gases.
It acts as a buffer, maintaining pH near 7.4. Plasma contains nut
rients, wastes, salts, proteins, etc.
Red Blood Cells
Red Blood Cells are responsible for carrying oxygen and car
bon dioxide.
Red Blood Cells pick up oxygen in the lungs and transport i
t to all the body cells.
After delivering the oxygen to the cells it gathers up the ca
rbon dioxide and transports carbon dioxide back to the lun
gs where it is removed from the body when we exhale.
There are about 5,000,000 Red Blood Cells in ONE drop of
blood.
White Blood Cells (leukocytes )
are larger than erythrocytes,
have a nucleus, and lack hemoglobin.
They function in the cellular immune response.
White blood cells (leukocytes) are less than 1% of the blood's v
olume.
Type of WBCs
There are five types of leukocytes:
Neutrophils enter the tissue fluid by squeezing through capillary walls an
d phagocytozing foreign substances.
Macrophages release white blood cell growth factors, causing a populatio
n increase for white blood cells.
Lymphocytes fight infection.
T-cells attack cells containing viruses.
B-cells produce antibodies. Antigen-antibody complexes are phagocytized
by a macrophage. White blood cells can squeeze through pores in the capil
laries and fight infectious diseases in interstitial areas
Platelets
Platelets are blood cells that help stop bleeding.
When we cut ourselves we have broken a blood vessel and the blood leak
s out.
In order to plug up the holes where the blood is leaking from the platelets
start to stick to the opening of the damaged blood vessels.
As the platelets stick to the opening of the damaged vessel they attract m
ore platelets, fibers and other blood cells to help form a plug to seal the br
oken blood vessel.
When the platelet plug is completely formed the wound stops bleeding.
Platelets survive for 10 days before being removed by the liver and spleen
.
Hemophilia – inability to clot – bleeders disease
The Blood Vessels
In class we talked about three types of blood vessels:
Arteries – carry blood AWAY from heart
Capillaries – Place were gas exchange takes place
Veins – Carry blood BACK to the heart
Arteries
Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen rich blood AWAY fro
m the heart. Remember, A A Arteries Away,
The aorta, the largest artery in the body, is almost the diameter
of a garden hose..
Arterial walls are able to expand and contract with the heart as
it pushes blood through the body
Artery Continued
The aorta is the main artery leaving the heart.
The pulmonary artery is the only artery that carries ox
ygen-poor blood. The pulmonary artery carries deoxyg
enated blood to the lungs.
Arterioles are small arteries that connect larger arterie
s with capillaries.
Small arterioles branch into collections of capillaries known as
capillary beds.
CaPillaries……………………….

Capillaries are tiny bloo

d vessels. Only 1 RBC fits
though at a time
Capillaries are only 1 cell
thick
Capillaries connect arter
ies to veins.
Veins……………………………………..
Veins carry blood back toward your heart.
Veins carry blood from capillaries to the heart. With th
e exception of the pulmonary veins, blood in veins is o
xygen-poor. The pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blo
od from lungs back to the heart.
Venules are smaller veins that gather blood from capill
ary beds into veins.
The veins have valves that prevent back-flow of blood.
AMAZING FACTS
One drop of blood contains a half a drop of plasma, 5
MILLION Red Blood Cells, 10 Thousand White Blood Ce
lls and 250 Thousand Platelets.
You have thousands of miles of blood vessels in your b
ody. Anywhere between 75,000 -100,000 miles. The e
arths diameter is 25,000 miles. So your blood vessels
around the equator 3 to 4 times!
Keep your heart healthy...it's going to have to beat abo
ut 3 BILLION times during your lifetime!
Thank you