C HAPTE R

Introduction to
Physiological
Principles

PowerPoint Lecture Slides prepared by

Stephen Gehnrich, Salisbury University
Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Physiology
The study of how animals work
Knut Schmidt-Nielsen (19152007)
Structure and function of various parts
How these parts work together

Diversity of animals
More than 1 million species live on Earth

Unifying themes
Apply to all physiological processes
Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

History of Animal Physiology

Hippocrates (460circa 377 B.C.)
Father of medicine
Careful observation

Aristotle (384322 B.C.)

Father of natural history
Relationship between structure and function

Claudius Galenus, Galen (129circa 199)

First experimental physiologist

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

History of Animal Physiology

Ibn al-Nafis (12131288)
Anatomy of heart and lungs

Jean-Francois Fernal (14971558)

Outlined current knowledge of human health and
disease

Andreas Vesalius (15141564)

First modern anatomy textbook

William Harvey (15781657)

Circulation of blood through the body by
contractions of the heart
Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

History of Animal Physiology

Herman Boerhaave and Albrecht von Haller (1700s)
Bodily functions are a combination of chemical and
physical processes
Prior to this all physiologists were either
Latrochemists (body functions involved only chemical
reactions)
Latrophysicists (body functions involved only physical
processes)

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

History of Animal Physiology

Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann (1838)
Cell theory

Claude Bernard (18131878)

Milieu interieur (internal environment)
Internal environment distinct from external
environment

Walter Cannon (18711945)

Homeostasis

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

History of Animal Physiology

Per Scholander (19051980)
Comparative physiology

C. Ladd Prosser (19072002)

Central pattern generators

Knut Schmidt-Nielsen (19152007)

Animals in harsh and unusual environments

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

History of Animal Physiology

George Bartholomew (19232006)
Ecological physiology

Peter Hochachka (19372002) and George Somero

(1941 )
Biochemical adaptations

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Physiological Subdisciplines
Based on

Biological level of organization

Process that causes physiological variation
Ultimate goals of the research
Many physiological questions encompass elements
from each subdiscipline

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Biological Level of Organization

Cell and molecular physiology
Genetics, metabolism, organelles

Systems physiology
Function of organs

Organismal physiology
Whole animal

Ecological physiology
Animal and its environment

Integrative physiology
Multiple levels of organization
Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Biological Level of Organization

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Figure 1.2

Biological Level of Organization

Physiologists often study processes at more than one
level
Reductionism understand a system by studying
the function of its parts
Emergence the whole is more than the sum of its
parts

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Process that Causes Physiological Variation

Developmental physiology
Change as animal grows

Environmental physiology
Change in response to environment

Evolutionary physiology
Change due to natural selection

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Ultimate Goals of the Research

Pure physiology
No specific goal, other than knowledge

Applied physiology
Medical physiology
Comparative physiology
August Krogh principle For every biological system
there is an organism on which it can be most
conveniently studied

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Unifying Themes in Physiology

Physiological processes obey physical and chemical
laws
Physiological processes are usually regulated
Homeostasis maintenance of internal constancy

Physiological phenotype is a product of genotype

and environment
Genotype genetic makeup
Phenotype morphology, physiology, and behavior

Genotype is the product of evolution

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Unifying Themes in Physiology

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Table 1.1

Physics and Chemistry

Physical properties of cells and tissue are linked to
structure and function
Molecular interactions are governed by chemical
laws
Thermodynamics and kinetics

Electrical laws describe membrane function;

especially excitable cells
Nerves and muscles

Body size influences physiological patterns

Allometric scaling
Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Physics and Chemistry

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Figure 1.3

Physiological Regulation
Strategies for coping with changing conditions
Conformers allow internal conditions to change
with external conditions
Regulators maintain relatively constant internal
conditions regardless of external conditions

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Homeostasis
Maintenance of internal conditions in the face of
environmental perturbations
Controlled by feedback loops or reflex control
pathways
Negative feedback loops
Positive feedback loops

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Homeostasis

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Figure 1.4

Phenotype, Genotype, and the Environment

Phenotype is a product of genotype and its
interaction with the environment
Genotype genetic makeup
Phenotype morphology, physiology, and behavior
Phenotypic plasticity single genotype generates
more than one phenotype depending on
environmental conditions

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Factors Influencing Phenotype

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Figure 1.1

Phenotype, Genotype, and the Environment

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Figure 1.5

Phenotypic Plasticity
Can be irreversible or reversible
Irreversible
Polyphenism developmental plasticity

Reversible
Acclimation under laboratory conditions
Acclimatization natural environment

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Physiology and Evolution

Diversity of anatomic and physiologic strategies
animals use to cope with their environment
Two types of questions
Proximate cause
How did these develop?

Ultimate cause
Why are these changes helpful?

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Adaptation
Two distinct meanings
Change in a population over evolutionary time
(i.e., many generations)
Most common usage
Definition used in this book

Synonym for acclimation

Many argue this is an incorrect usage

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Basis for Evolution and Natural Selection

Variation among individuals for specific traits
Traits must be heritable
Traits must increase fitness
That is, must increase reproductive success

Relative fitness of different genotypes depends on

the environment
If the environment changes, the trait may no longer be
beneficial

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Not All Differences are Adaptations

Genetic drift
Random changes in the frequency of genotypes
over time
Independent of adaptive evolution
Most common in small populations
For example, forest fire resulting in founder effect

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Evolutionary Relationships
Despite the diversity in animal form and function,
there are many similarities
Common evolutionary ancestors

Closely related species share more features than

distantly related species
Understanding evolution is necessary to
understanding physiological diversity

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings