• Lesson Structure: Physiology II (Human) BSC111

  There are 9 lessons:

  1. Cellular Physiology
     • Menbrane transport
     • Simple passive transport
     • Facilitated passive transport
     • Active transport
     • Transcription, translation and post transcriptional modification
     • Cellular metabolism
     • Cellular energy production
     • Homeostasis
     • Homeostatic balance
     • Feedback system
     • Body temperature
     • Effect of temperature on enzymes
     • Adenosine triphosphate
     • Glycolysis
  2. Histophysiology
     • Muscle fibre: filament types
     • Muscle tissue
     • Spongy bone
     • Compact bone
     • Bone physiology
     • Bone tissue
     • Cartlidge
     • Dense connective tissue
     • Connective tissue
     • Epithelial tissue
     • Physiology of tissue
     • Nervous tissue
  3. Systems Physiology
     • Central and peripheral nervous systems
     • Somatic and autonomic nervous systems
     • Sensory, motor and integrated systems
     • General senses
     • The process of sensation
     • Special senses
     • Autonomic nervous system
     • Autonomic reflexes
     • Parasympathetic nervous system
     • Sympathetic nervous system
  4. Neurophysiology
     • Structure of the nervous system
     • Parts of a neuron
     • Classification of different neurons
     • Neuron function
     • Action potentials
     • Graded potentials
     • Synapses: electrical, chemical
     • Neurotransmitters
     • Neural circuits
     • Different functions of the brain
     • Homeostatic reflex arc
     • Spinal chord and spinal nerves
  5. Endocrinology
     • Functions of endocrine system
     • Actions of hormones
     • Hormone target cells
     • Anterior pituitary gland hormones
     • Actions of posterior pituitary
     • Actions of adrenal gland: cortex and medula
     • Pancreatic hormones
     • Thyroid gland
     • Parathyroid
     • Adrenal glands
     • Pancreas
     • Hormone receptors
  6. Cardiovascular Physiology
     • Heart function
     • Cardiac cycle
     • Heart muscle cell contraction
     • Blood vessels
     • Blood: regulation, erthrocyte physiology, leucocytes
     • Hemostasis
     • Lymphatic system
     • Blood flow
     • Gas transport
     • Arterial alveolar gradient
     • Oxygen transport
     • Factors affecting oxygen release by haemoglobin
  7. Immunology
     • Immune system structure
     • Lymphatic organs and tissues
     • Types of resistance
     • Non specific cellular and chemical defences: phagocytes, natural killer cells
     • The inflammatory response
     • Specific defence mechanisms
     • Humoral immunity
     • Antibodies
     • Antigens
  8. Respiratory Physiology
     • Respiratory epithelium
     • The lungs
     • Airway anatomy
     • Alveoli
     • Nasal and oral cavities
     • Larynx, trachea, bronchial tree
     • Function of respiratory system
     • Pulmonary ventilation
     • Lung volumes and capacity
  9. Renal Physiology
     • Urinary system
     • Blood and nerve supply
     • NephronsKidney functions
     • Remal processes
     • Glomerular filtration
     • Electrolyte and Acid base balance
     • Tubular reabsorption
     • Tubular secretion
     • Ureters
     • Urinary bladder
     • Urethra
     • Micturition proces

Learning Goals

• Describe and understand the microscopic anatomical features of human cells
• Review basic structure and form markings of the body and be able to name them.
• Describe the significant systems and the structure of those systems of the body
• Integumentary, Nervous, Cardiovascular and Renal Systems.
• Describe the significant systems and the structure of those systems of the body.
• Endocrine, Immune and Reproductive Systems.
• Describe the significant structures in specific compartments or parts of the body – body cavities.
• Investigate the anatomy of the extremities – the arms and legs. This includes the bone, musculature and nervous tissue of the regions.
• Describe the study of the structure of the body and the application of various forms of medical imaging.

Practicals:

• Cell Physiology – Study of the functions of cells
  • Chemical reactions
  • Homeostasis, feedback systems, homeostatic imbalances
• Histophysiology – Study of the functions of tissues
  •  Bone – ossification, growth,
• Negative feedback regulation of blood calcium
• Articulation
• Systems Physiology – Study of the operation of organ systems
  •  Integumentary
• Skin – physiology, homeostasis, and body temp
  • Sensory, Motor, and integrative systems
• Sensations and sensory pathways
• Memory, wakefulness, and sleep
• Special senses
• Smell, taste, vision, hearing, and equilibrium
  •  ANS
• Dual innervation and neurotransmitters
• Parasympathetic/sympathetic
• Neurophysiology – Study of the functional characteristics of nerve cells
  • Myelination
  • Resting membrane potential, ion channels, repolarizatoin, impulse propagation
  • Spinal Cord
• Sensory/Motor
• Grey/White matter
• Reflexes, reflex arcs, and homeostasis
• Spinal nerves
  •  Brain
• Limbic system
• Functions of cerebral cortex
• Neurotransmitters
• Endocrinology – Study of hormones and how they control body functions
  •   Mechanisms of homeostatic action
  • Glucocorticoid secreation (NE and E)
• General Adaptation Syndrome
• Cardiovascular Physiology – Study of the heart and blood vessels
  • Heart Blood Supply – Coronary arteries
  • Cardiac Muscle Contraction – EKG
  • Cardiac Output
  • Hemodynamics – volume, BP, Capillary exchange
• Immunology – Study of the body defence mechanisms
  • Functions of White Blood Cells
  • Non specific resistance to disease immunity
• Respiratory Physiology – Study the functions of the air passageways and lungs
  • Pulmonary Ventilation – pulmonary capacity
• Renal Physiology
  • Study of the function of the kidneys. An advanced course on human physiology that will develop further your understanding of the principles of physiology, examining functions of the cells, tissues and systems of the human body. The course details how our bodies maintain internal equilibrium and health while exposed to the most variable range of conditions, such as physical, psychological and environmental factors.

Your learning experience with ADL will not only depend on the quality of the course, but also the quality of the person teaching it. This course is taught by Iona Lister and your course fee includes unlimited tutorial support throughout. Here are Iona’s credentials:

Iona Lister
Licentiate, Speech and Language Therapy, UK, Diploma in Advanced Counselling Skills.

Iona has been a clinician and manager of health services for fifteen years, and a trainer for UK-based medical charities, focusing on psychosocial issues, mental health disorders, and also the promotion of communication skills for people in helping roles. She tutors and facilitates groups via workshops and teleconferences, and now specialises in Sight Loss. As a freelance writer, she contributes regular feature articles for magazines, has written five published books, as well as published courses relating to personal development and counselling skills.

Iona has also written published books, courses and articles across a wide range of subjects, mostly in the areas of health, counselling, psychology, crafts and wildlife.

She has drawn experience from clinical and managerial experience within the NHS as well as medical and humanitarian subjects. She has been a regular feature writer and expert panel member of a national magazine for six years.

Books include: A Guide to Living with Alzheimer’s Disease (and associated dementias), The Psychology of Facial Disfigurement; a Guide for Health and Social Care Professionals, When a Medical Skin Condition Affects the Way you Look; A Guide to Managing Your Future, Facing Disfigurement with Confidence, Cross Stitch: A Guide to Creativity and Success for Beginners.
Courses written include: Mental Health and Social Work, Counselling Skills, Understanding and Responding to Substance Misuse, Journalling for Personal Development, Guided Imagery, Stress Management.

Current work includes: Tutor: Courses associated with Creative Writing, Counselling Skills, Psychology, Holistic Therapy, Certified Hypnotherapist and Hypnotension Practitioner.

Facilitator of Teleconference Groups: Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)

Trainer (Skills for Seeing): Macular Society

Reviewer of Books/Information: Macmillan Cancer Support

Fundraiser: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Embroidery/Art Groups Facilitator, Board Member

Website Manager: The Strathcarron Project, Coordinator (Delaware & Tennessee) Human Writes

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Here is a list of the most often asked FAQ’s.

General

Q. Why should I enrol with the Academy for Distance Learning?
A. Here at ADL, our students are our priority – we treat everyone as a unique individual.

Q. Do I need to buy text books?
A. No, as each module has been written by highly qualified industry professionals. The content of the material is presented in such a way that text books are not required. However, if you require additional reading your tutor will be able to supply a list.

Q. What happens if I have to stop studying for a while? (eg. become sick, go on holidays, have a baby, move house, etc)
A. It’s OK to take a break and start up your study at a later point in time. Just let us know.

Q. Is there an age limit?
A. There is no maximum age limit. We do however, have a minimum age limit of 18 years. Below that age parental consent would be required.

Q. Are your courses up-to date?
A. Our courses are revised and updated on a rotation system.

Q. Do you have a Cancellation policy?
A. Yes. We have a cancellation policy that is fair and equitable. For further details please click here.

Q. Will I have any opportunity to engage with other students?
A. We have a Student Community group based on facebook! If you don’t have a facebook account already, you could make one just for talking with fellow students on the group.

Enrolment

Q. When can I enrol/start?
A. You may enrol and start at any time of the year – it’s all self- paced.

Q. Can I study from anywhere in the world?
A. Our courses are available to anyone, anywhere in the world from the comfort of your own home. The course content is relevant to any country, culture or economy.

Q. How long do I have to complete the course?
A. You complete the course at any time that is convenient for you.

Q. Completing a 100 hour module – how long will it take?
A. For some students a 100 hour module will take approximately to 3- 6 months to complete. Others take less time and some even longer.

Assessment

Q. Assessment – how does it work?
A. For each 100 hour module you are assessed by assignments (at the end of each lesson) and a final one and a half hour exam (or you may elect to complete a Project, instead of sitting the exam) – the choice is yours – you sit for the exam in your own location.

Q. I don’t cope well with exams – what can I do?
A. You may elect to undertake a Project (set by your tutor) instead of sitting the exam. Projects are completed from your home and can usually take a couple of weeks to complete.

Q. If my assignment is not up to standard is there an opportunity to resubmit my work?
A. Yes –

Q. How many assignments do I need to complete for each module?
A. At the end of each lesson, there is an assignment – so if a course has say, 10 lessons, there would be 10 assignments.

Q. I am having difficulty attending workshops/industry meetings, what can be done?
A. If your course requires attendance at workshops, conferences, or industry meetings; alternative arrangements can be made in your country.

Qualifications

Q. What qualification will I receive?
A. For individual modules, you would be awarded a Certificate endorsed by TQUK (Training Qualifications, UK), providing you complete all assignments and the exam. If you just want to complete only the assignments and not sit for the exam or finish a Project, then a Letter of Achievement would be awarded. For more details on qualifications available please click here.

Q. Can I customize my diploma/higher qualification?
A. Not all educational institution’s certificates /diplomas meet everyone’s needs. The opportunity to Design Your Own Diploma at the Academy (subject to our approval) is an added bonus, not found at other colleges. You choose modules that you think will help you in achieving your goal.

Q. What do I get when I complete the course? Will I receive a transcript?
A. At the completion of all courses and providing all assignments and exam requirements have been met, you will receive your Award and a Transcript.

Tutors

Q. Our tutors – who are they?
A. We appoint Tutors and require that they must be currently active in their industry, with at least 5 years’ experience in their chosen profession.

Q. Can I contact my tutor at any time?
A. Yes – you have unlimited access to your tutor via email through our Online Classroom. You can always leave a message with ADL requesting your tutor to contact you. You decide on how much or how little contact you wish to have.

Q. Practical work – How is this done?
A. To find out more about this part of the course please visit the section on How Our Courses Work here.

A course designed for health therapists and all those working in health care that want or need to develop a deeper understanding of the human body processes and health maintenance.

Excerpt from the course

Peripheral Nervous System

The peripheral nervous system encompasses all neural structures outside the brain and spinal cord: the sensory receptors, peripheral nerves and ganglia and efferent motor ending.

Sensory Receptors

Sensory receptors are part of a sensory neuron that responds to change in the environment and stimuli (environmental change and surroundings). These changes can present in the form of sound, pressure, chemical and other various forms. Sensory receptors and sensory neurons are designed to become aware of the electrical energy of the outside stimuli and respond to it. Once the response occurs, the sensory receptor will then relay it back to the nervous system via graded potentials that in turn trigger nerve impulses along the afferent fibres on the way to the CNS. When the stimulus ceases, the body ceases to notice this due to the receptor potential being deactivated.

Peripheral Nerves and Associated Ganglia

The PNS is divided into sensory (afferent) and motor (efferent) division. The nerves that carry the impulses both towards the CNS are sensory/afferent and nerves that carry impulses away from the CNS are motor/efferent. Peripheral nerves are classified as cranial or spinal nerves depending on whether they arise from the brain or spinal cord. Ganglia are neuron cell bodies that are associated with nerve fibres in the PNS. Ganglia associated with afferent nerve fibres contain just the cell bodies of sensory neurons and are known as dorsal root ganglia.

Motor Endings

These are the motor endings that activate effectors by releasing neurotransmitters.

Cranial Nerves

There are twelve pairs of cranial nerves associated with the brain that pass through various regions of the skull. Cranial nerves are mixed nerves and have many different functions.

Sensory, Motor and Integrated Systems

In this section we look at how certain facets work together to carry out the basic functions of receiving sensory input, integrating, associating and storing information, and transmitting motor impulses that result in movement or secretion. It is through this functioning of systems that the body is able to communicate and relate with each other. It is necessary to have these in place so if we feel pain; we can react to alleviate the discomfort (for example, moving our hand away from a fire).

Sensation is being aware of a change in the environment, whether that environment is external or internal. Each type of sensation such as touch, pain, hearing and vision is called a sensory modality. Each specific sensory neuron carries information for that particular sensory modality. Neurons carrying information for touch can only transmit impulses for touch, not pain or hearing

General Senses

The general senses are made up of both somatic senses and visceral senses. Somatic senses are include tactile sensations which are touch, pressure and vibration, thermal sensations, warm and cold, pain sensations and proprioceptive sensations which is perception of both moving and non moving body parts. Visceral senses are information about internal organs.

The general or somatic senses begin in the receptors located in the skin (cutaneous) or embedded in muscles, tendons, joints and the inner ear (proprioceptive). Anaesthesia means without sensation and when it is used it blocks sensation within the body and between systems. The sensations from the somatic receptors then cross over to the opposite side in the spinal cord or brainstem before going to the thalamus.

There are two general pathways from sensory receptors to the cortex: posterior column pathway (discriminative touch and proprioception) and the spinothalamic (anterolateral) pathway (pain and temperature). This input is then integrated in the Central Nervous System which is then conveyed by the motor pathway to create a response.

The integrative functions include such activities as memory, sleep and wakefulness, and emotional responses (limbic system). These functions are the subject of many studies and we are just beginning to understand the physiology and interdependency of these systems with the rest of the body. Of course we are aware when we have little sleep it can affect our emotional responses as well as our memory.

The Process of Sensation

The process begins in a sensory receptor (either a specialised cell or in the dendrites of a sensory neuron). The sensory receptor responds to stimulus or a different change in the environment. Once the receptor is stimulated, they will convert energy into a graded potential. Importantly, each sensory receptor can only transduce its own particular type of stimulus.

Once the message is received, a particular region of the CNS will receive and integrate the sensory nerve impulse and then integrate it into the cerebral cortex. Different sensory impulses from each part of the body arrive in a particular region of the cerebral cortex, which interprets the sensation as coming from the stimulated sensory receptor. Therefore, you seem to hear with your ears, or feel pain in a certain bodily part, when in fact it is your brain telling you about the action as it responds to the message.

Adaption in Sensory Receptors:

Over a certain amount of time, the generator or receptor potential decreases if a stimulus is constantly maintained. The nerve impulses in the first order neuron therefore decrease and adapt to the ongoing stimulus and because of this, the perception of a stimulus may decrease or fade even though the stimulus does not change.

There are two different types of adapting receptors, rapidly adapting and slowly adapting. Rapidly adapting receptors adapt quickly to a change, such as touch, smell and pressure. Slowly adapting receptors continue to trigger nerve changes for the duration of the stimulus such as pain and body positions

Special Senses

Special senses include the sensory modalities of smell, taste, hearing, vision and balance. These are all necessary if we are to notice specific alterations and changes in our environments. These sensations all play a role in deepening the impact of our surroundings such as experiencing people, food, music, or a rose. And sensation can also have a great effect on our organ systems. Seeing a full buffet, especially when we are hungry, can start the whole digestive process. Hearing a beautiful song can relax our cardiovascular system by affecting the autonomic nervous system.

Sense of Smell: Olfaction

The receptors for olfaction are known as bipolar neurons. These neurons are stored in the nasal epithelium with olfactory glands. Axons from olfactory receptors form the olfactory nerves which relay messages to olfactory bulbs.  These then transmit to the limbic system and temporal and frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex

Sense of Taste: Gustation

The gustatory receptor cells are stored in the taste buds. Dissolved chemicals known as tastants stimulate gustatory receptors by either binding to receptors attached to G-proteins in the membrane, or passing through ion channels. Gustatory receptor cells then produce receptor potentials which cause the release of neurotransmitter. This will then stimulate nerve impulses in first order sensory neurons. Gustatory receptor cells trigger nerve impulses in cranial nerves VII, IX and I. Signals also pass to the medulla oblongata, thalamus and cerebral cortex (parietal lobe).

Vision

Refraction of light on the cornea and lens reflect an image on the retina, which focus an inverted image on the central fovea on the retina. Transduction of light energy into a receptor potential occurs in the outer segment of both rods and cones. Receptor potentials in rods and cones decrease the release of inhibitory transmitters, which induces graded potentials in bipolar and horizontal cells. Horizontal cells transmit inhibitory signals to bipolar cells, bipolar and amacrine cells transmit excitatory signals to ganglion cells, which depolarize and initiate nerve impulses. Ganglion nerve impulses are then conveyed into the optic nerve II fibre, to the thalamus and from there to the cerebral cortex

Hearing

Sound waves enter the external auditory canal, strike the eardrum and pass through the ossicle. They then pass through the vestibular membrane and scala tympani to increase pressure in the endolymph and vibrate the basilar membrane.  Hair bundles on the spiral organ are finally stimulated. These hair cells convert vibrations into receptor potentials which release a certain neurotransmitter which initiates nerve impulses into first order sensory neurons. Sensory axons which are located in the cochlear branch terminate in the medulla oblongata. They then pass to the inferior colliculus, thalamus and temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex

Equilibrium

There are two different types of equilibrium, static and dynamic. Static is the maintenance of the position of the body (in general the head), usually the steady state of the body without movement and dynamic equilibrium is the maintenance of the body position (head in general) in response to sudden movements such as turning, speeding up and slowing down.