536-201 Principles of Physiology

Note

1. Students who took Physiology 536-207 prior to 1997 cannot gain credit for 536-201 (1998).
2. The study of the physiological processes has been spread across the whole year and it is anticipated that students will take this subject in combination with 536-211 Physiology: Control of Body Function or/and 536-212 Physiology: Contemporary Health Issues. The combination of 536-201 and 536-211, together with the practical subject 536-202, are the basic requirements for selection into third year Physiology (see the '300-level Subjects' entry in the departmental preamble).

Credit Points

Coordinator

Prerequisites

Three of: Chemistry 610-141 and 610-142 or 610-161 and 610-162 (before 1998: 610-121 + 610-122); Physics 640-121 and 640-122 or 640-141 and 640-142 or 640-161 and 640-162; Biology 600-141 and 640-142; Mathematics and Statistics 620-121 or 620-141 or 620-161 and/or 620-160 (or before 1998: Mathematics 618-121 or 618-141 or 618-161 and/or Statistics 619-100); Psychology 512-100. Combined courses students who are taking a full year's course load require only two Science subject pairs to be eligible for selection into second year Physiology.

Corequisites

either 536-211 or 536-212

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

Physiology is an integrative study of the control of normal body function. This subject:

• Illustrates how body systems act and interact to maintain homoeostasis - a constant internal environment.
• Provides an understanding of cellular, subcellular and membrane structures and their importance in fluid distribution, functions of excitable cells (nerve and muscle), information transfer (electrical and hormonal) and metabolism. This provides an introduction to Cellular Physiology covering the properties and characteristics of specialised cells such as neurones and muscle cells.
• Shows how cellular specialisation results in hormonal, neural and organ systems subserving specialised body functions by studying organ function including the cardiovascular system, respiration, kidney function and the gastrointestinal physiology.
• Provides an understanding of physiology as an experimental science with many key concepts arising from the qualitative and quantitative observation and analysis of living organisms.

Assessment

A 2.5 hour end-of-semester written examination.