Our Marvelous Bodies

Front Matter

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CONTENTS

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pp. v-vii

LIST OF FIGURES

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pp. ix-

LIST OF TABLES

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pp. xi-xii

PREFACE

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pp. xiii-xiv

I attended an international conference for biomedical scientists in San Diego, California, in the spring of 2005. The deaths of Pope John Paul II and Terry Schiavo made the headlines during that week. Life support had been terminated for Terry Schiavo two weeks before her death. She had suffered a major heart attack ...

1. The Foundation

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pp. 1-17

For students receiving their initial exposure to the life sciences, physiology is the study of how living things work. It is the bedrock of the biomedical sciences. As the American Physiological Society expresses it, physiology is the science of life. Physiology is an analytical, experimental, investigative, and quantitative science. ...

2. Understanding the Mammalian Nervous System

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pp. 18-34

Neurons, or brain cells, come in multiple shapes and sizes. Their common purpose is to communicate. Neurons consist of three basic components that enable them to communicate. These include the cell body or soma, an axon or cable that extends to an adjacent neuron or other effector, and dendrites. ...

3. The Endocrine System and Physiological Communication

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pp. 35-52

Both the nervous and endocrine systems were designed for communications. The nervous systems rely on the principles of conduction and transmission using electrical and chemical signals associated with individual neurons. Most commonly, these neurons are arranged in series whether they be on the sensory or motor sides ...

4. The Cardiovascular System and the Blood

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pp. 53-75

Homeostasis in the mammalian cardiovascular system depends importantly on the interactions among blood pressure, blood flow, resistance to blood flow, and other hemodynamic variables. Moreover, there are several important reflexes such as the baroreceptor reflex and the Bainbridge reflex that help maintain an equilibrium ...

5. Health and the Respiratory System

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pp. 76-93

Breathing in the human includes both ventilation and respiration. The rib cage, diaphragm, and intercostal muscles constitute a bellows-like system in which the lungs are found. Neurogenically controlled movements of the thoracic cavity cause the expansions and contractions of the lung that respiratory physiologists ...

6. Kidneys and Renal Physiology

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pp. 94-108

Among the many physiological functions of the kidney—including those that are subject to feedback control—one is preeminent and omnipresent from birth to death. This is the need to maintain the homeostasis of body water and body electrolytes. Except for short-lived maladjustments, water and electrolyte balance among ...

7. The Gastrointestinal System

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pp. 109-127

The mammalian gastrointestinal system is also known as the digestive tract or the enteric system. It is a complex system performing mechanical, secretory, digestive, absorptive, and excretory functions. Each of these is under the influence of local gastrointestinal reflexes as well as central feedback control mechanisms. ...

8. The Reproductive System

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pp. 128-137

The human reproductive system consists of internal and external organs that help identify one’s phenotype or degree of maleness or femaleness. The reproductive system is a complex organ system that begins to develop and differentiate early after conception. There are both physical and physiological differences between ...

9. The Immune System

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pp. 138-150

Our bodies are continuously bombarded by a variety of infectious pathogens including but not limited to bacteria, fungi, molds, parasites, spores, and viruses. Many of these circulate in the atmosphere as airborne matter. Their concentrations and varieties can vary regionally in any country or clime. ...

10. Muscle Function

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pp. 151-161

In chapter 1, I described the relationship between structure and function using two examples, muscles and kidneys, to illustrate. Structurally, muscle can be broadly classified as either striated or nonstriated. The two kinds of striated muscle are skeletal and cardiac. Nonstriated muscle is further characterized as visceral smooth ...

11. Integrated Physiological Responses

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pp. 162-169

At the turn of the twenty-first century, all things physiology were about integration. This means understanding mechanisms from molecular to whole animal levels. Such knowledge allows science to be quickly transferred from the laboratory bench to the hospital bed (translational physiology). Regulation of circulating ...

12. For the Record

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pp. 170-184

Physiology, like all sciences, is a science of record keeping. Some of the records are known as data. Above all else that they do, physiologists are first and foremost writers. Through the centuries, they have collected their records in different forms such as handwritten on paper, ink-drawn polygraphs, heat-inscribed ...

GLOSSARY

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pp. 185-198

NOTES AND SUGGESTED READING

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pp. 199-208

INDEX

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pp. 209-219

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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