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Teaching GuideTerm Faculty of Science |
| Grao en Bioloxía |
 Subjects |
| Animal Physiology I |
| Contents |
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| Identifying Data | 2019/20 | |||||||||||||
| Subject | Animal Physiology I | Code | 610G02035 | |||||||||||
| Study programme |
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| Descriptors | Cycle | Period | Year | Type | Credits | |||||||||
| Graduate | 1st four-month period |
Third | Obligatory | 6 | ||||||||||
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| Topic | Sub-topic |
| Introduction: Units 1 and 2. | Unit 1.- Animal Physiology as a Science: concept and historical perspective. Functional features of animals. The animal and its environment: the external environment and determinants of physiological processes. Concept of internal environment and its constancy. Concept of homeostasis and the homeostatic mechanism. Unit 2.- Substance transfer through biological membranes. Origin of the transmembrane potential. Membrane potentials: resting potential and action potential. Ionic basis of the action potential. Action potential propagation: diffusion of excitation / impulse transmission. |
| Nutrition and digestive function. Bioenergetics: Units 3 to 7. | Unit 3.- Nutrition: nutritional requirements. Capturing and swallowing food mechanisms. Regulation of food intake. Overview of the digestive systems: types of digestion, digestive systems and stages of digestion. Unit 4.- Functional regions of the digestive tract (i). Reception: chewing and salivation. Swallowing, transmission and storage. Esophageal peristalsis. Control of gastric motility and gastric emptying. Structure and innervation of the gastrointestinal muscle. Intestinal motility and reflexes. Unit 5.- Functional regions of the digestive tract (ii). Secretions: salivary, gastric, pancreatic, biliary and small intestine and regulation. Digestive enzymes of invertebrates. Structure of the absorption mucous membrane. Digestion of food and gastrointestinal absorption: physical and chemical processes involved. Absorption of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Absorption of water, electrolytes and vitamins. Digestion and absorption in ruminants. Posterior tract fermenters. Intestine: motility and secretions. Formation of feces and defecation. Unit 6.- Bioenergetics. Energetics in organisms and heat production. Metabolic rate: definition and meaning. Factors affecting metabolic rate: activity, size and body surface, hormonal balance, etc. Metabolism measuring methods. Unit 7.- Body temperature. Ectotherm and endotherm animals. Production mechanisms and heat transfer. Adaptations to cold and heat in ectotherms and endotherms. Regulatory mechanisms of body temperature. Biological rhythms and lethargy: sleep, torpor, hibernation and estivation. |
| Respiratory Systems: Units 12 to 16. | Unit 12.- Respiratory systems. Oxygen availability: gases in air and in water. Gas exchange in aquatic environments. Fish as a model of aquatic respiration: breathing through gills. Role of skin in breathing. Unit 13.- Gas exchange in the air environment. Tracheal and pulmonary respiration. Pulmonary respiration: functional structure and respiratory mechanics. The avian lung: a unidirectional mechanism. Unit 14.- Regulation of respiration. Nervous regulation. Chemoreceptors and baroreceptors in the regulation of breathing. Regulation and exercise. Unit 15.- Exchange-transfer of gas and gas transport. Respiratory pigments. Function of hemoglobin and myoglobin in oxygen transport and dissociation curves or O2 equilibrium curves. Factors which influence the affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen. Bohr Effect. CO2 transport and equilibrium curves, and input from the tissues and unloading. Haldane effect. Unit 16.- Approach to respiratory and circulatory diving and high-altitude adaptations. |
| Circulatory Systems: Units 8 to 11. | Unit 8.- Circulation: general considerations and types of cardiovascular systems. Propulsion Systems: Types of heart. Evolution of the vertebrates heart. Unit 9.- The myogenic heart: physiology of the heart muscle. Cardiac excitation: cardiac automaticity and rhythmicity (sinoatrial node function as pacemakers). Intracardiac conduction. The neurogenic heart. The heart pump. The cardiac cycle: correlation of electrical and mechanical events, and the heart. Cardiac output. Regulation of heart activity: intrinsic, nervous, and hormonal regulation. Unit 10.- Hydrostatic and hydrodynamic principles applied to hemodynamics. The arterial system. Determinants of blood pressure. Venous circulation. Venous pressure. Regulation of blood circulation (self, nervous and hormonal regulation). Baroreceptors and chemoreceptors. Capillary circulation: exchange between the capillaries and the intercellular spaces. Pulmonary circulation. Coronary circulation. Cerebral circulation. The lymphatic system, structure and function of the tissue drainage mechanism. Unit 11.- Body fluids. Circulating fluids: types and composition. Cellular elements. Immunity. Hemostasis and blood coagulation. Hemostatic systems in different animals. |
| Ionic-osmotic balance and excretion: Units 17 to 20. | Unit 17.- Osmoregulation and environment. Environmental parameters of the aquatic and terrestrial environments. Osmoregulation in aquatic animals: strategies for water-salt regulation in the iso-osmotic, hyperosmotic and hyposmotic media. Water and electrolyte problems of terrestrial life. Unit 18.- Excretory function and excretory products: cleansing of body fluids and maintaining their volumes. The excretion of nitrogenous products. The excretory organs of invertebrates: nephridium modalities and Malpighian tubule system. The kidney of vertebrates: the Loop of Henle and the ability to form hyperosmotic urine. Functional anatomy. Unit 19.- The kidney of mammals (i). Basic mechanisms of urine formation: glomerular filtration, tubular secretion and reabsorption. Diversity of the tubular segments and their function. Glomerular filtration rate, renal clearance and maximum transport. Unit 20.- The kidney of mammals (ii). Regulation by the kidney of the Na+, K+ and Cl- ions. Other ions. Regulation of renal function and urine concentration: countercurrent multiplier system. Role of mineralocorticoids. Regulation of body volume: antidiuretic hormone. Renal function and blood pressure: the renin-angiotensin system. The acid-base balance and the need for its maintenance. Regulation. |
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