Human Physiology Series

Anatomy ver­sus Phys­i­ol­ogy, What’s the Difference?

Here’s an anal­ogy that might help:  Instead of the human body, imag­ine you were going to learn how a car works.  First you would be taught what all the parts are called, what they look like and where they go.  That’s Anatomy.  After you have been acquainted with what the parts look like, then  you could learn what they do and how they func­tion all together with the other parts.  That’s Physiology.

Just like the Anatomy Series, each level pro­vides a foun­da­tion for the next…

Organic and Inor­ganic molecules

• Intro to Physio and Organic Molecules
• Car­bo­hy­drates
• Lipid
• Pro­teins
• Nucleic Acids
• Vit­a­mins
• Min­er­als

Cel­lu­lar respiration

• Ana­bolic and Cata­bolic Reactions
• Intro to Cel­lu­lar Res­pi­ra­tion: The Pro­duc­tion of ATP
• How Glu­cose Lev­els are Reg­u­lated in the Blood Stream
• Cell Res­pi­ra­tion Part 1: Anaer­o­bic Res­pi­ra­tion (Gly­col­y­sis and Fermentation)
• Cell Res­pi­ra­tion Part 2: Aer­o­bic Res­pi­ra­tion (Tran­si­tion Reac­tion & Kreb’s Cit­ric Acid Cycle)
• Cell Res­pi­ra­tion Part 3: Aer­o­bic Res­pi­ra­tion (Elec­tron Trans­port System)
• The Catab­o­lism of Fats and Pro­teins for Energy
• The Catab­o­lism of Nucleic Acids
• Oxy­gen Debt

Basic Phys­i­ol­ogy Primers

• The Con­cept of a Ref­er­ence Person
• Review of Cell Mem­brane Structure
• The Pro­teins Embed­ded in Cell Membranes
• Fluid Com­part­ments within the Human Body
• Move­ment of sub­stances across cell membranes
• The Prin­ci­ple of Homeostasis
• Reg­u­la­tion of Body Temperature
• Inflam­ma­tion and the Patho­phys­i­ol­ogy of Fever
• The Men­strual Cycle

Neu­ro­phys­i­ol­ogy (Biophysics)

• Review of the Ner­vous System
• Neu­rons in the Ner­vous System
• Cere­brospinal Fluid (CSF)
• Rest­ing Cell Mem­brane Potential
• Hypokalemia
• Hyper­kalemia
• Action Poten­tial (Nerve Impulse)
• Elec­tri­cal Refrac­tory (Recov­ery) Period fol­low­ing an Action Potential
• Sub­thresh­old, Thresh­old and Suprathresh­old Stimuli
• Infor­ma­tion and Action Potentials
• Con­duc­tion of the Action Poten­tial along the Nerve Fiber
• Synapse and the Synap­tic Trans­mis­sion
  • Actions of Exci­ta­tory and Inhibitory Neurotransmitters
  • Exam­ples of Neu­ro­trans­mit­ters that are usu­ally excitatory
  • Exam­ples of Neu­ro­trans­mit­ters that are usu­ally inhibitory
    • Sum­mary of the above three articles!
• Func­tional Orga­ni­za­tion of the Ner­vous Sys­tem (april 3)

Endocrinol­ogy

• Endocrinol­ogy of the Hypo­thal­a­mus and Pitu­itary Gland
• Hor­mones Secreted by the Ante­rior Pitu­itary Gland
  • Thy­rotropin
  • Adreno­cor­ti­cotropin Hor­mone (ACTH)
    • Stress and Cortisol
  • Pro­lactin
  • Growth Hor­mone
  • FSH and LH (Gonadotropic Hor­mones)
    • Birth Con­trol
• Four Hor­mones Essen­tial for Survival
• The Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone Reflex
  • Types of Hypertension

Car­dio­vas­cu­lar Physiology

So… I didn’t end up fin­ish­ing this series.  If you guys want me to con­tinue, leave a com­ment please.

Sup­ple­men­tal

• How come peo­ple from very cold cli­mates can visit LA in the win­ter and walk around in shirts and shorts?

Related posts:

1. Intro to Phys­i­ol­ogy and Organic Molecules
2. Actions of Exci­ta­tory and Inhibitory Neurotransmitters
3. Exam­ples of Neu­ro­trans­mit­ters that are usu­ally inhibitory
4. Human Anatomy Series
5. Fluid Com­part­ments within the Human Body