05181 - Physiology

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student is able to: understand the main functions of bodily districts (organs, bones, muscles, joints, vessels, nerves) that constitute the primary targets of occupational and environmental risk factors.

Course contents

EXCHANGE PROCESSES BETWEEN CELLS AND THE EXTRACELLULAR ENVIRONMENT

Composition of extracellular and intracellular fluids. Passive and active exchange processes.

 

RESTING MEMBRANE POTENTIAL AND ACTION POTENTIAL

Membrane ion channels. Resting membrane potential. Excitable cells. Genesis and propagation of action potential.

 

SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION

Chemical and electrical synapses. Overview of neurotransmitters and receptors.

 

SKELETAL, SMOOTH, AND CARDIAC MUSCLE

Skeletal muscle. Mechanism of muscle contraction. Neuromuscular transmission. Motor units and force contraction grading. Smooth and cardiac muscle: regulation of contraction.

 

FUNCTIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Anatomical and functional organization of the central and peripheral nervous system.

 

OVERVIEW OF THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

General principles of hormone action and regulation of endocrine secretion. Hypothalamus and pituitary gland. Major hormones involved in the regulation of energy metabolism.

 

CARDIOVASCULAR FUNCTION

Specific and common myocardial electrical activity. Origin and propagation of cardiac excitation. Phases and mechanical events of the cardiac cycle. Stroke volume and cardiac output. Regulation of cardiac activity. Principles of electrocardiography. Organizational and functional aspects of the circulatory system. Blood pressure and blood velocity in different sections of the circulatory system. Function of arteries and arterioles. Capillary exchanges. Nervous and humoral regulation of peripheral circulation. Arterial pressure and its regulation.

 

RESPIRATORY FUNCTION

Respiratory muscles and respiratory movements. Alveolar pressure and pleural pressure. Lung volumes and capacities. Composition of atmospheric and alveolar air. Diffusion of respiratory gases. Transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. Nervous and chemical regulation of respiration: respiratory centers and peripheral and central chemoreceptors.

 

RENAL FUNCTION

General aspects of renal function: ultrafiltration, secretion, reabsorption. Ultrafiltration process: balance of pressures and effective filtration pressure. Ultrafiltration rate. Mechanisms of urine concentration and dilution: facultative water reabsorption and its regulation.

 

DIGESTIVE FUNCTION

General aspects of the motor, secretory, and absorptive functions of the digestive system and their nervous and humoral regulation.

Readings/Bibliography

Zocchi L. Principi di fisiologia. Casa Editrice EDISES

Battaglia E, Amici R. Fisiologia umana per le professioni sanitarie. Ediz. illustrata. Casa Editrice Mc Graw Hill

Assessment methods

TRUE/FALSE written test.

Office hours

See the website of Timna Hitrec