Lecture 1 - Physiological Systems and Their Organisation
• Two branches of science that deal with body parts and functions
• Anatomy
o Science of body structures and relationships
o Especially as revealed by first studies of dissection and the separation
(cutting) of parts
o Imaging techniques
• Physiology
o The science of body functions
• Body structure and function
o There is a relationship between form (shape) of a human body part (molecule,
cell, tissue, organ or organ system) and the way is functions (form determines
function)
o Examples
▪ Bones of the skull provide protection for the brain
▪ The membrane between air in the lungs and pulmonary blood flow is
only one cell thick facilitating gas exchange
▪ Sheer size of lungs provides a huge surface for gas exchange
(surface area both lunch is roughly the same size as a tennis court
and airway total length is about 1500 miles)
o In 2020, Stanescu et al surveyed undergrad physiology programmes and
faculty to determine their attitudes about the core concepts of physiology.
Crosswhite et al also surveyed a different group of faculty members about
their use of core concepts of physiology
▪ In all reports, ‘structure/function’ was identified as one of the core
concepts of physiology that students ought to be able to use and
understand
• Fundamental levels of organisation
o It is helpful to consider the body’s basic architecture - how its smallest parts
are assembled into larger structures
o Fundamental levels of organisation increase in complexity
o
• Structural organisation of the human body
o All matter in the universe is composed of one or more unique, pure
substances called elements
• Two branches of science that deal with body parts and functions
• Anatomy
o Science of body structures and relationships
o Especially as revealed by first studies of dissection and the separation
(cutting) of parts
o Imaging techniques
• Physiology
o The science of body functions
• Body structure and function
o There is a relationship between form (shape) of a human body part (molecule,
cell, tissue, organ or organ system) and the way is functions (form determines
function)
o Examples
▪ Bones of the skull provide protection for the brain
▪ The membrane between air in the lungs and pulmonary blood flow is
only one cell thick facilitating gas exchange
▪ Sheer size of lungs provides a huge surface for gas exchange
(surface area both lunch is roughly the same size as a tennis court
and airway total length is about 1500 miles)
o In 2020, Stanescu et al surveyed undergrad physiology programmes and
faculty to determine their attitudes about the core concepts of physiology.
Crosswhite et al also surveyed a different group of faculty members about
their use of core concepts of physiology
▪ In all reports, ‘structure/function’ was identified as one of the core
concepts of physiology that students ought to be able to use and
understand
• Fundamental levels of organisation
o It is helpful to consider the body’s basic architecture - how its smallest parts
are assembled into larger structures
o Fundamental levels of organisation increase in complexity
o
• Structural organisation of the human body
o All matter in the universe is composed of one or more unique, pure
substances called elements
