Human Anatomy & Physiology General
Biology is the study of life but, what exactly is life?
how are living things different from nonliving things
eg. a human from a rock
eg. a a human from a robot
eg. a living human from a corpse
also, how are all living organisms similar
what do we have in common with
eg. a bacterium
eg. a fish
eg. a frog
eg. an armadillo
So one of the most basic questions is: What is Life?
What is life
a highly organized interaction of matter and energy
can’t define in one sentence
must consider several properties of life or life functions:
each property taken individually is NOT unique to living things
many nonliving things do one or more of them
eg. viruses don’t quite fit
Properties of Life
1. maintaining boundaries:
-internal versus external environment
2. movement
3. responsiveness
-functions are regulated within and between cells
4. assimilation & digestion
5. metabolism
-anabolism & catabolism
6. excretion
7. reproduction
-survival of genetic information
8. growth
Anatomy & Physiology: Introduction & History, Ziser Lecture Notes; 2005 1
, Survival needs:
1. nutrients
-solids, liquids, gasses
2. gasseous oxygen, O2
(is actually a nutrient)
needed for energy reactions in cells
3. water
solvent
reactant
4. temperature range near 37º [~0º - 100º]
need liquid water
proteins (enzymes) sensitive to temp
5. atmospheric pressure near 760mm Hg
gas exchange
lowest atm humans can survive is about 1/5th of an atmosphere;
would become starved for oxygen if pressure were much lower;
some bacteria can survive in “vacuum packed” foods
not enough oxygen gas at low pressures
high pressures cause implosion
6. gravity
space science – gravity is essential for normal
bone and muscle maintenance and cardiovascular fitness
What are you?
8-10 major organ systems
Dozens of tissues and organs
A conglomeration of trillions of cells (75 Trillion)
A collection of carefully arranged atoms and
molecules interacting in millions of different ways
How does your body work?
all physiology from organism to cell involves chemical reactions
cells functions by manipulating energy and matter = metabolism
the physiology of the organism is just the sum
total of all the chemical reactions (metabolism) occurring in
individual cells
the whole process is regulated by your “genes”
– the genetic information contained within each cell
Anatomy & Physiology: Introduction & History, Ziser Lecture Notes; 2005 2
Biology is the study of life but, what exactly is life?
how are living things different from nonliving things
eg. a human from a rock
eg. a a human from a robot
eg. a living human from a corpse
also, how are all living organisms similar
what do we have in common with
eg. a bacterium
eg. a fish
eg. a frog
eg. an armadillo
So one of the most basic questions is: What is Life?
What is life
a highly organized interaction of matter and energy
can’t define in one sentence
must consider several properties of life or life functions:
each property taken individually is NOT unique to living things
many nonliving things do one or more of them
eg. viruses don’t quite fit
Properties of Life
1. maintaining boundaries:
-internal versus external environment
2. movement
3. responsiveness
-functions are regulated within and between cells
4. assimilation & digestion
5. metabolism
-anabolism & catabolism
6. excretion
7. reproduction
-survival of genetic information
8. growth
Anatomy & Physiology: Introduction & History, Ziser Lecture Notes; 2005 1
, Survival needs:
1. nutrients
-solids, liquids, gasses
2. gasseous oxygen, O2
(is actually a nutrient)
needed for energy reactions in cells
3. water
solvent
reactant
4. temperature range near 37º [~0º - 100º]
need liquid water
proteins (enzymes) sensitive to temp
5. atmospheric pressure near 760mm Hg
gas exchange
lowest atm humans can survive is about 1/5th of an atmosphere;
would become starved for oxygen if pressure were much lower;
some bacteria can survive in “vacuum packed” foods
not enough oxygen gas at low pressures
high pressures cause implosion
6. gravity
space science – gravity is essential for normal
bone and muscle maintenance and cardiovascular fitness
What are you?
8-10 major organ systems
Dozens of tissues and organs
A conglomeration of trillions of cells (75 Trillion)
A collection of carefully arranged atoms and
molecules interacting in millions of different ways
How does your body work?
all physiology from organism to cell involves chemical reactions
cells functions by manipulating energy and matter = metabolism
the physiology of the organism is just the sum
total of all the chemical reactions (metabolism) occurring in
individual cells
the whole process is regulated by your “genes”
– the genetic information contained within each cell
Anatomy & Physiology: Introduction & History, Ziser Lecture Notes; 2005 2
