WHAT IS HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY?

The science of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of

humans in good health, their organs, and the cells of which they are
composed.

PURPOSE: To equip the trainee with knowledge, skills and

values to be applied in physiological processes.
PRESCRIBED AND RECOMMENDED READINGS
• Ganong, W G, 2007. A review of medical physiology
• Guyton, 2004, Textbook of medical physiology

DR. S Phiri
 IMPORTANCE OF PHYSIOLOGY
• The goal of physiology is to explain the physical and chemical factors that
are responsible for the origin, development, and progression of life.

• Each type of life, from the simple virus to the largest tree or the
complicated human being, has its own functional characteristics.

• Therefore, the vast field of physiology can be divided into viral physiology,
bacterial physiology, cellular physiology, plant physiology, human
physiology, animal physiology and many more subdivisions

• It’s a preclinical course that prepares you for clinicals.

Dr, S B Phiri
 Human Physiology
• In human physiology, we attempt to explain the specific characteristics and mechanisms of the
human body that make it a living being.

• The very fact that we remain alive is almost beyond our control,
– for hunger makes us seek food and
– fear makes us seek refuge.
– Sensations of cold make us look for warmth
– Other forces cause us to seek fellowship and to reproduce

• Thus, the human being is actually an automaton, and the fact that we are sensing, feeling, and
knowledgeable beings is part of this automatic sequence of life;

• These special attributes allow us to exist under widely varying conditions.

Dr, S B Phiri
 UNITS OF MEASURE IN SOLUTIONS
• Concentrations are often given in terms of weight/volume.
For example, mg/L, or mg/100 mL (common clinical units)

• For a substance with a known molecular structure, one can define a

"Mole" of that substance.

• 1 Mole is the weight of 6.23X10^23 molecules, and is commonly

calculated as the sum of the atomic weights of each atom in a
molecule.
Dr, S B Phiri
• A Molar Solution is an aqueous solution consisting of
one mole of a substance plus enough water to make
one Liter of solution

• A Molal Solution is an aqueous solution consisting of

one mole of a substance plus 1kg of water (usually very
close to 1 L water). The total volume may thus be more
than 1 L.
Dr, S B Phiri
• Concentrations of ions are often given in Equivalents (or
milliequivalents, mEq per Liter.

• The equivalents of an ion is equal to the molarity times

the number of charges per molecule.

• Thus Equivalents is the measure of CHARGE

concentration

Dr, S B Phiri
• Osmoles refers to the number of impermeable particles dissolved in a
solution, regardless of charge. This will be important for determining
the diffusional movement of water.

• For substances that maintain their molecular structure when they

dissolve (e.g. glucose), the osmolarity and the molarity are essentially
the same.

• For substances that dissociate when they dissolve, the osmolarity is

the number of free particles times the molarity. Thus for a pure NaCl
solution, a 1 Molar solution would be 2 Osmolar (1 for Na, and 1 for
Cl).
Dr, S B Phiri
 OSMOLARITY VS OSMOLALITY
• osmolarity
is the number of osmoles per liter of solution (eg plasma)

• osmolality
is the number of osmoles per kilogram of solvent.

• Therefore, osmolarity is affected by the volume of the various solutes

in the solution and the temperature, while the osmolality is not.
Dr, S B Phiri
 WAYS OF LEARNING AND APPLYING PHYSIOLOGY
• Tests
 Multiple choice – choose the best
 True or false – determine whether the statement is true or false
 Essays – mechanisms or problem based essays.
• Spot Quiz

• Labs

• Assignments

• Viva voce
Dr, S B Phiri
 BODY FLUID
COMPARTMENTS
BODY FLUID COMPARTMENTS
Cells making up multicellular organisms, both
aquatic and terrestrial, exist in an ‘’internal sea’’i.e.
Extracellular Fluid(ECF) enclosed within integument
of animal.
Dr, S B Phiri
Dr, S B Phiri
From this fluid(ECF), the cells take up O2 and nutrients; into it,
they discharge metabolic waste products.

Total body fluid is mainly divided into two major compartments;

i)Extracellular Fluid(ECF) compartment
ii)Intracellular Fluid(ICF) compartment
Transcellular Fluid compartment

The body fluid compartments are separated from each other by cell
membrane highly permeable to water but not to most of the
electrolytes in the body
Dr, S B Phiri
I) Extracellular Fluid(ECF) compartment

 All the fluids outside the cells

 Account for about 20 per cent of the body weight

 Divided into two largest compartments i.e. Interstitial

fluid(75% of the ECF and 15% of body weight) and
circulating blood plasma(approximately 25% of the ECF
and 5% of body weight).
Dr, S B Phiri
 Interstitial fluid is part of ECF that is outside vascular system bathing cells

 Plasma is within vascular system

II) Intracellular Fluid Compartment

All the fluid inside the body cells
Account for 40% of total body weight

Dr, S B Phiri
Transcellular Fluid
Very small compartment of fluid, about 1 to 2
litres altogether

Considered to be a special type of ECF

It includes fluid in the synovial, peritoneal,

pericardial, and intraocular spaces, as well as the
cerebrospinal fluid(CSF).
Dr, S B Phiri
 Dr Phiri S B

Male Female
At birth 82% 82%
Children&adolescence 70% 70%
18-20 years 59% 57%
20-40 years 56% 51%
40-60years 55% 47%
Over 60 years 52% 46%
 Composition and differences between ECF and ICF
fluids
Substance ECF (mEq/L) ICF (mEq/L)

The
Na⁺ 142
ECF contains large 10
amounts of chloride, sodium and
bicarbonate
K⁺
ions, nutrients
4
for cells,(glucose,
140
fatty acids
andCa⁺⁺ amino acids), carbon
2.4 dioxide and0.0001other cellular
products
Mg⁺⁺ whereas; 1.2 58

Cl⁻ 103 4

The ICF contains large28 amounts of potassium,

HCO₃⁻ 10 magnesium
and phosphate ions
Phosphate 4 75

SO₄⁻ 1 2
Dr, S B Phiri
 Application of dilution method in measuring body fluid compartments
 Size of body fluid compartment can be measured by injecting substances that will
stay
Vol. D in only one compartment and then calculating the volume of fluid in which
the test substance is distributed (volume of distribution of injected material).

 
Vol.D

Dr, S B Phiri
Characteristics of substances that must be used

i) Non toxic
ii) Must mix evenly throughout compartment being
measured
iii) Must not have any effect of its own on water and other
substance distribution in the body
iv) Easy to measure
v) Must be unchanged by the body during mixing period or
amount changed should be known
Dr, S B Phiri
 I)Plasma volume
Has been measured using dyes that become bound to
plasma protein( Evan’s blue(T-1824)

Can also use serum albumin labelled with radioactive

iodine

Volume can be calculated using formula given above

Dr, S B Phiri
 II)Total blood volume
Total blood vol. = Plasma vol./(1- Hematocrit)

For example, if plasma volume is 3 liters and hematocrit is

0.40, total blood volume would be calculated as :
3 liters/(1-0.4) = 5 liters

III) Red cell volume

Red cell vol. = Total blood vol. – plasma vol.
Dr, S B Phiri
Red cell volume can also be measured independently by
injecting tagged red cells and, after mixing has occurred,
measuring fraction of red cells that is tagged. Commonly
used is radioactive chromium tag

iv) Extracellular fluid volume

 ECF vol. is difficult to measure because the limits of this
space are ill defined and because few substances mix
rapidly in all parts of the space while remaining exclusively
extracellular.
Dr, S B Phiri
 Extracellular Fluid volume.
The volume of extracellular fluid can be estimated using any of
several substances that disperse in the plasma and interstitial fluid
but do not readily permeate the cell membrane.

They include Inulin, Mannitol and sucrose

Inulin (a polysaccharide) gives the most accurate ECF measurements

The generally accepted value for ECF vol. is 20% of total body weight

Dr, S B Phiri
 V)Interstitial fluid volume
Can not be measured directly
since it is difficult to sample interstitial fluid
and substance that equilibrate in interstitial
fluid also equilibrate in plasma.

Interstitial fluid vol. = ECF vol. – Plasma vol.

Dr, S B Phiri
 VI)Intracellular Fluid Volume
Can not be measured directly

Intracellular Fluid Volume =Total body water(TBW) – ECF Vol.

Total body water is measured using same dilution principle

used to measure other body spaces. Deuterium oxide(heavy
water) is most frequently used

Tritium oxide and aminopyrine have also been used to

measure TBW Dr, S B Phiri
 Spot Quiz
1.Mr. Niza was involved in a road accident and lost a lot of blood due to hemorrhage.
He was quickly rushed to your clinic for medical attention, upon arrival the doctor
requested that you carry-out some tests to estimate the volume of the fluids lost
before giving any fluid therapy.
• Two milliliter (2mls) of Evans Blue with the concentration of 2000 mg/l was injected
into the patient (Mr. Niza) then after 15 minutes 5mls of blood sample was collected
given to the Lab Technician for analysis. The results indicated that the concentration
of T1824 in the blood sample was 1.6 mg/l. Answer the following questions

i. Calculate the plasma volume of this patient and estimate plasma loss if the normal
should be 3L. [3mrk]
ii. Given that Hematocrit (PCV) is 45% calculate total blood volume [2mrk]
iii.Calculate red cell volume [2mrk]
iv.Using a flow diagram illustrate body fluid
Dr, Scompartments
B Phiri in a 70 kg man.[3mrk]