HUMAN AND SPECIAL ENVIRONMENTS PHYSIOLOGY
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2022/2023
- Teacher
- CARLO VERONESI
- Credits
- 8
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- BIO/09
Training objectives
- At the end of the course the student must have acquired a synthetic, clear and rational vision of the basic physiological mechanisms necessary to deal critically professional materials. In particular, the course aims at providing the basic knowledge about the neurophysiology, the physiology of the skeletal muscle, of the respiratory, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, renal and endocrine systems, and the resulting influences arising from an increase in motor activity.
Prerequisites
- Basic knowledge of physics, chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy, cellular physiology and biophysics.
Course programme
- Introduction to the study of physiology.
Definition of homeostasis. Intercellular communication. Endocrine glands and their hormones.
Hypothalamus-pituitary axis. Hormones of the adenohypophysis and neurohypophysis. Thyroid-parathyroid and control of blood calcium concentration. Adrenal glands. The endocrine pancreas and blood glucose level control. Male and female gonad hormones.
General properties of muscle. Skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle structure. Muscle contraction. Sliding filament theory. Excitation-contraction coupling. Cycle of calcium in muscle fibers. Tetanus. Muscle and bones as a system of levers and fulcra. Isometric and isotonic contraction. Types and characteristics of muscle fibers and motoneurons. The motor unit. Muscle plasticity. Muscle fatigue. Energetic of human locomotion. Nerve reflexes. Proprioception.
The autonomic nervous system.
The circulatory system. Cardiac muscle cells. The potential of cardiac contractile cells. Pacemaker cells and their potential. Myocardial cell mechanics. The conduction system of the heart. The cardiac cycle. The electrocardiogram. Blood vessels. Arterial pressure: principles of fluid dynamics. The Poiseuille law. Differential and average arterial pressure. Sphygmomanometer. Types of capillaries. Capillary exchanges.
Functional anatomy of the kidney. Filtration, reabsorption, secretion and excretion. Urine concentration. Renal clearance. Hydro-electrolyte balance. Acid-base balance. Hormone’s action on renal activity. Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Vasopressin mechanism.
The respiratory system. Functional anatomy and respiratory mechanics. Ventilation. Pulmonary compliance. LaPlace's law and the alveolar surfactant. Exchange and transport of gases. Breathing control mechanisms.
Functions and functional anatomy of the digestive system. Nutrition principles. Motility of the digestive system. Secretory function. Digestion of various nutrition principles. Absorption of digestion products.
General organization of the nervous system. The cerebral cortex. Cortical areas. The motor cortex, the cerebellum. The basal ganglia.
Somatosensory system.
Sensory systems. The eye and the visual pathways. The ear and the auditory pathways. Vestibular system. Smell and taste. Didactic methods
- Lectures
Learning assessment procedures
- Written exam consisting of 60 questions (true or false response), Examination time: one hours.
Score: + 1 for each correct question, - 1 for every wrong question, 0 for every unanswered question; The test is passed with a minimum score of 36/60 (18/30). The vote, however, will not be the result of a mere mathematical calculation, but will also take into account the seriousness of the mistakes made, in the opinion of the commission. Reference texts
- Fisiologia umana, Elementi. Editore Edi-Ermes
Silverthorn D.U. Fisiologia Umana. Un approccio Integrato. Casa Ed. Pearson.
Stanfield C.L., Fisiologia , EdiSES.
Berne-Levy, Principi di Fisiologia, Casa Ed. Ambrosiana.
Alloatti et al., Fisiologia dell'Uomo. Edi Ermes
