Questions tagged [human-physiology]
For questions on the biochemical, physical, and mechanical functioning of humans in good health including their organs and cells.
356
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21 views
Medical Physiology
I've come across the topic of the influence of inhaled ammonia (caustic ammonia) on breathing rate and some cardiovascular changes. All of this stuff is thought to be mediated through the fifth ...
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56 views
Does the body have any mechanism to prevent fever from causing damage to the brain?
I read that fever is an active mechanism of the body to defend the infection. But when the temperature is raised too high, is there a second mechanism to stop or delay it?
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76 views
Why do people make "aaagh" noises when they make an effort (e.g. trying to hit a ball hard)?
I'm referring to, for instance, grunting in tennis. It refers to how many tennis players make loud "aaagh" noises when hitting a ball. In daily life, people often also do this when trying to ...
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31 views
List as many levels of organization as you can at which diabetes could be corrected
I got a question from a textbook <<Seeley's Anatomy & Physiology Twelfth Edition>> that does not have an answer at the back of the book (only odd numbered questions do have an answer ...
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1answer
40 views
What are the roles of ATP and ADP in muscle contraction?
I've always known that the hydrolysis of ATP generates ADP, P, and energy, so I'd assume that if energy is necessary in a given process, ATP hydrolysis should occur (or another exothermic process).
...
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1answer
100 views
Why is it easier to spin in one direction than in the other?
When I use a rotating floor disk to spin fast (while standing), I notice that I can keep balance much easier and rotate much faster in clockwise direction rather than in counterclockwise direction. I ...
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1answer
136 views
How does increased resistance to flow decrease blood pressure?
I have recently encountered this question:
Waldenström's macroglobulinemia is a condition which causes increased blood viscosity due to high protein content in the blood. How would Waldenström's ...
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37 views
How does medicine work? [closed]
Take aromatase inhibitors for example. In order for a molecule to stop the enzyme aromatase from converting androgens into estrogens, it must meet 6 criteria:
Not get broken down by the acidity or ...
5
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2answers
463 views
Pathogens vs Microbes and the Immune System
I hope my question isn't too basic or silly. I am currently learning about infectious diseases in Year 11 Biology right now, and I'm stuck at the concept of pathogens and micro-organisms. Whenever I ...
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21 views
Vitamin B12 deficiency Megaloblastic anemic
I have two doubts regarding Megaloblastic anemia which shakes my mind
(1) first is- I know that vitamin B12 is required for thymidine synthesis which is further required for DNA synthesis and so if ...
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28 views
What causes metallic tastes when you receive electric shocks
Whenever I receive small electric charges (most often by, e.g. touching the jack of a plugged in charging cable, or the casing of a charging Apple device), I experience a very distinctive taste in my ...
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11 views
Is it true that the cells of large and small intestines cannot secrete digestive enzymes into the GI tract in the same way as the stomach does?
When I read about the intestines, I usually see the word 'release' instead of 'secretion'.
Secretions of the small intestine, for example, occur from two types of histological structures: Brunners ...
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78 views
Why does (insulin induced) hypoglycemia stimulate ADH secretion?
Intuitively, I understand that ADH (Anti Diuretic Hormone) is responsible for maintaining osmolarity, and increased serum osmolarity is a stimulatory factor for its release-- ADH increases water ...
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13 views
Is it correct that Afterload=Preload+Active tension?
Preload causes development of equal amount of passive tension which leads to distension of heart muscle. Further, afterload causes development of active tension or cross bridge formation which ...
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1answer
34 views
why are dizygotic twins genetically dissimilar
I am a high school student and I am a little confused in a topic related to dizygotic twins, I get to know that dizygotic twins are genetically dissimilar because they are formed as a result of two ...
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1answer
75 views
Why is only the donor's antigen seen during a blood transfusion?
I am a high school student and I am a little confused that why only donor's antigen matters during blood transfusion? for e.g if the donor's blood is O- so it means that it will antibodies against all ...
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1answer
35 views
Why do nerve impulses utilize potassium and sodium instead of other Group 1 metals?
Rubidium and potassium are very similar, yet the body utilizes sodium and potassium for nerve impulses. Why is this the case? Why not any other element? Likewise, why not Lithium? I've read a research ...
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37 views
Why does bicep activate during dead hang?
Hanging from a bar causes my bicep to feel much harder than when simply holding my arm straight above my head relaxed, without a bar.
This was slightly surprising to me: I used to assume that since ...
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55 views
Type B Nerve fibres cause exactly what kind of autonomic sensation to the preganglionic neurons?
Ganong's Review of Medical Physiology (25th ed) presents the Erlanger and Gasser classification of mammalian Nerve Fibres as such:
Type B Fibres are concerned with Preganglionic autonomic sensations, ...
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1answer
57 views
How is the renal osmotic gradient maintained even though the blood osmolarity changes?
I am a high school student and I am a little confused in 2 things related to our urinary system:
We know in our kidneys a countercurrent mechanism exists due to which there is a steep gradient of ...
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2answers
159 views
How do physics notions of fluid dynamics relate to pressure gradients in circulation?
I'm having a hard time comprehending why sometimes physiology notions seem to contradict each other and contradict physics teachings.
More specifically I don't understand why aortic coarctation causes ...
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0answers
15 views
Quantitative comparison of rate of energy output when burning carbs compared to fat
I'm studying scientific models of endurance exercise such as the one in a paper by Rapoport (see references below, popularization here). If I'm understanding properly, fat burning is in some sense ...
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1answer
89 views
How deep underwater could you breathe using a tube which breaks the surface until the water pressure makes it impossible to inhale air?
I'm struggling with a question asking how deep you can breathe underwater using a hollow reed before the water pressure makes it impossible to inhale. The question asked to use this data of maximal ...
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1answer
48 views
External "lungs" that process your blood the same as your real lungs do - would that stop your need for breathing?
So say your blood goes with a tube out of your body. In an external device all the chemical/biological magic would happen and it would be fed back to your body.
Of course this doesn't exist (yet), but ...
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1answer
84 views
Why can we eat salty food, but can't stomach salty water?
I know that too much sodium is bad for our health. However, it struck me as odd that we like to add salt to pasta sauce or other foods we eat, yet trying to drink salt water can bring on the gag ...
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1answer
27 views
Which landmark paper first described the differentiation of T-cells?
T-cells are distinguished from B cells in part by their locus of differentiation/maturation (thymus). This is textbook knowledge, but I was wondering which particular person or people were responsible ...
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1answer
71 views
If you only ate fruits, vegetables or smoothies would you be able to skip drinking water?
If you only ate fruits, vegetables or smoothies would you be able to skip drinking water?
I do not see some animals (like squirrels) drinking water daily (doesn't mean they don't have a water source) ...
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1answer
56 views
How do prodrugs exactly work? Are there multiple varieties of prodrugs?
I have been reading about a (new?) prodrug of LSD, 1CP-LSD, which is being synthesized in the body to LSD.
However, I don't know how exactly. I read somewhere, that another prodrug of LSD, 1P-LSD was ...
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1answer
164 views
Does LSD "stay" in your fat storage and then "returns" back?
This rumor was told me by a very anti-drug person. A stance I agree with only lightly.
The rumor was that when you take LSD, it stores itself in your fat storage, and then returns back in 3-6 months, ...
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3answers
91 views
Why aren't the twin organs like both the eyes, ears, hands and legs lying both sides of a human body identical?
Both the eyes are not identical in geometrical shape and size i.e. physical appearances of both the eyes of a person are different from each other. The same difference is observable in both the hands, ...
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0answers
31 views
How long does it take to reset sense of smell?
I have noticed that when I go on vacation for several days and then come back home, there is a distinctive, relatively mild paint smell in my apartment complex. However, under normal circumstances, ...
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2answers
118 views
Why did the indigenous peoples of northern Asia and America not evolve the same physical characteristics as people of Nordic ancestry?
I was watching DW's documentary on the Arctic the other day, and I was struck by how the indigenous peoples of the far north seemed - visually speaking - to fit into two categories. On the one hand, ...
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30 views
Why do animals yawn? What is the biology behind it? [duplicate]
We yawn whenever we are tired and body needs rest. Why does the mouth open wide and a large volume of oxygen is inhaled?
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1answer
54 views
What is the duration between: the moment we stop breathing and to body's and involuntary mucle movement? [closed]
I studied that if someone stops breathing by pressing their nostrils with fingers and start to starve without oxygen, the body will automatically cause the hands to leave the nostrils in a certain ...
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1answer
48 views
Plasmolysis and turgor pressures
I am a high school student and I am a little confused in plasmolysis,
when we study plasmolysis, we say that at limiting plasmolysis, the turgor pressure OR pressure potential reduces to 0 what do we ...
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41 views
How would our vision be improved if our photoreceptors were not backwards?
I'm curious to how much better human eyesight would be if the nerves from our rods and cones were correctly placed behind the receptors?
Are there any Animal Models with correctly placed ...
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Quantitative Physiology Textbooks Recommendations?
I am currently completing a 2nd year (UK) Mamamilian Physiology Module and a Neuroscience Module. However, my degree is also 40% Maths and Statistics. So in order to learn the content better, I am ...
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1answer
75 views
Why don't sodium Voltage Gated Channels open during Repolarization?
During Depolarization the Sodium VGC open when they receive the Threshold Stimulus. But when Repolarization occurs there comes a point when the cell interior has exactly the the same potential that it ...
2
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1answer
81 views
Is Pars intermedia functional in humans?
My textbook says, "Pars intermedia secretes only one hormone called melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH)."
My teacher says that in humans MSH is secreted by the anterior lobe because the ...
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0answers
32 views
How to estimate oxygen consumption of an average human during different activities?
I've tried to find some resource on the internet but had little luck. I'm looking to see if there's any data on average oxygen consumption of average to well trained humans during different activities....
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1answer
43 views
Concept of mean systemic filling pressure
Mean circulatory filling pressure (MCFP) in humans was defined by Guyton as "the pressure that would be measured at all points in the entiere circulatory system if the heart were stopped suddenly ...
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77 views
What is "KK1 enzyme"?
In the book "The Kaizen Way" by Robert Maurer, I've read the following:
When we’re sitting, our muscles go into a form of hibernation, causing
our bodies to shut down the enzyme (called KK1)...
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2answers
138 views
Is water movement across cell membrane purely diffusive or it always requires channels?
If we see nephrons, in the descending part of Loop of Henle (LoH), water movement is allowed but solute movement is not. On the contrary, in ascending LoH, solute movement is allowed but not water. ...
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56 views
What is the function of human Trypsin Inhibitor if trypsin is secreted in the inactive form of Trypsinogen? [closed]
I was reading about pancreatic digestive enzymes in a Textbook of Medical Physiology and I came across Trypsin Inhibitor. The text stated that:
It is important that the proteolytic enzymes of the ...
2
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1answer
205 views
Why does exhaled air still contain oxygen?
I am a high school student and I am a little confused in the concept of breathing:
My confusion is that, when we talk of exchange of gases we say that gases always diffuse from their high "...
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1answer
131 views
Why does this oxygen duration chart have increased times above 30,000 FT MSL?
This oxygen duration chart from an airplane shows the amount of time a pilot can be on oxygen at a specified altitude (in 1000s of feet). For example, the chart shows two pilots able to cruise at a ...
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12 views
Using serotonin for relief from allergies
When someone suffers from an allergy, due some allergens they are given drugs like anti-histamine, adrenaline or serotonin. How does serotonin affects the body to give a relieve from the action of ...
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126 views
How do the biophysics of how cerebrospinal fluid mechanically protects the brain work?
The two mechanisms I've seen mentioned are the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) acting as a hydraulic cushion or shock absorber, and how CSF creates a micro-gravity environment through buoyancy.
I have very ...
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1answer
103 views
Why do beta-1 and beta-2 adrenergic receptors result in two completely different effects (though both use Gs pathway)?
$\beta_2$ adrenergic Receptors are $G_s$-coupled 7-TM proteins. Considering that $G_s$ , by activation increases $[\text{cAMP}]_\text{cytosol}$ which inhibits MLCK of smooth muscles (and causes ...
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1answer
24 views
Why severely increased Ligand (eg Hormones) concentration downregulates the Receptor?
As an example continuous high blood level of GnRH in humans causes a suppression of LH and FSH. This is due to the fact that increased GnRH downregulates GnRH-Receptors . My question is how this is ...