PCB 4733 HUMAN SYSTEMIC PHYSIOLOGY I

SYLLABUS FALL 2002

Textbook: Silverthorn: Human Physiology.

Instructor: Dr. Leon A. Cuervo

Office: OE 243 Hours: Tue and Th 1:30 to 4:30 PM, or as arranged

Phone: 305-348-2298 E-mail: cuervol@fiu.edu

The subject matter discussed in physiology courses is complex and has a foundation in physics, chemistry and biology. A knowledge of these disciplines is important. The complexity stems from the necessity to simultaneously consider detailed functional mechanisms and intricate networks of relationships between the different functions. What one organ or system is doing at a particular time will affect what other organs or systems will do, in such a way that complex signaling feedback and feedforward loops can be identified as the entities responsible for the self-regulatory property characteristic of organisms. In order to adequately convey this sense of total interdependence, it will be necessary at times to make reference to systems that have not been previously discussed. The instructor will make an effort to guide students with these difficulties either in class or through individual meetings.

Students are urged to read pertinent parts of the textbook prior to the lectures. The lectures will concentrate on those mechanisms that are difficult to understand, on explanations of processes and their interrelationships, and on illustrations of proper physiological thinking. This will include examples of how to navigate the networks of relationship. Aids in the form of flow charts that map those networks are found in the textbook and others will be provided. Chapters 1-4 will not be discussed in class as separate items, but their contents is fundamental and may be referred to at appropriate times. Students should read these parts as needed. It will be very important to clarify doubts as they arise while studying by searching in the book for answers.

Homework assignments will contribute to the development of your understanding of the subject matter. They will consist of problems and case studies, and you should always try to follow a sequence of logical steps in attempting their solution. The homework assignments will not be graded, but the effort of working them out has its rewards: the same kind of thinking is required by many of the test questions. Closed book tests will be given in class at the end of each of the three sections, and their contribution to your final grade will be 30%, 40% and 30%, respectively. You are responsible for the contents of the book chapters assigned as well as of material present in hand outs and/or discussed in class. 
Note: final examination date is Thursday December 12 at 9:30.

In order to perform well in the course, you need to reach a good understanding of the subject. In addition to the lectures, readings, and questions you may ask me, I encourage you to meet in small groups to discuss the material and the assignments. Discussions between peers is frequently an effective way to identify misunderstandings and to correct them. They can also serve to better define questions presented to me.

TOPICS

Section I.

1. Introduction. The organism as an integrated system. Hierarchical levels of organization. Homeostasis and the concept of regulation. Feedback mechanisms. Ch. 1

2. Membrane phenomena. Diffusion, facilitated diffusion, active transport, co-transport, endocytosis, exocytosis. Osmosis and osmotic pressure. Ionic fluxes and the resting membrane potential. Ch. 8, hand-outs and class notes.

3. Basic organization of the nervous system. Central and peripheral divisions. Review of the anatomy of the brain and spinal chord. Motor and sensory divisions. Nerve cells. Membrane potential. Generation and conduction of action potentials. Synaptic transmission. Ch 9 and class notes.

4. The autonomic nervous system. Anatomical organization of the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions. Relationship to brain stem centers and hypothalamus. Neurotransmitters, receptors and physiological actions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions. Adrenal medulla. Ch 11.

5. Structure of muscle cells. The physiology of the contractile process. Ch 12, hand-outs and class notes.

Section II

6. The heart. Overview of the circulatory system. Electrical activity of the myocardial cells and of the heart: action potentials, conduction of impulses, electrocardiogram. The heart as a pump: pressure-volume curves. Events of the cardiac cycle. Heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output. Intrinsic and extrinsic regulators: Starling's law, neural and endocrine influences, reflexes. Ch. 14, hand-outs and class notes.

8. Integration of cardiac and vascular function. Regulation of cardiac output and of arterial pressure. Vascular function curves and cardiac function curves. Venous return and cardiac output. Blood volume, venous tone, peripheral resistance, myocardial contractility. Effects of gravity, muscular activity and respiration. Ch. 15 and class notes.

Section III

9. Structure of the respiratory system. Lung volumes and capacities. Mechanics of respiration. The respiratory muscles. Compliance of the chest wall and lungs: alveolar surface tension. Intrapleural and alveolar pressures as a function of lung volume: the pressure-volume curves. Airway resistance and air flow. Ventilation and alveolar ventilation. Partial pressures of O2 and CO2. The control of breathing. Ch. 17, hand-outs and class notes.

11. Gas exchange through the alveolar-capillary membrane. Partial pressures and gas diffusion. Partial pressures of alveolar gas, blood and tissues. Diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide through the respiratory membrane. Transport of gases in blood and their exchange with tissues. Ch. 17 and class notes.

Return to Dr. Cuervo's Home Page