UNIT ONE
Introduction to Animal Physiology
- Define animal physiology.
- Identify the levels used to study animal physiology.
- Identify a teleological, a mechanistic, and an evolutionary approach to studying animal physiology.
- Define homeostasis and identify a homeostatic mechanism.
- Define ECF and ICF.
- Identify characteristics and examples of a negative feedback system.
- Define a regulator, as in a thermoregulator, vs. a conformer, as in a thermoconformer.
Cell Membranes
- Identify the basic functions of the cell or plasma membrane.
- Identify the structure of the phospholipid bilayer, including their amphipathic arrangement of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic portions.
- Identify examples of lipids that can be found in the plasma membrane.
- Identify what is meant by membrane fluidity, as well as its advantages, adjustments, and the fluid mosaic model.
- Identify the two types of membrane proteins.
- Identify membrane protein functions.
Cell Signaling
- Distinguish the structure of proteins, including the building blocks, the bonds, the different structural shapes.
- Define ligand.
- Distinguish between receptor specificity, saturation, affinity and modulation.
- Define a gap junction.
- Distinguish autocrine, paracrine and endocrine glands.
- Distinguish the locations of hormone receptors and specify the types of ligands that could bind to these receptors, depending on their location.
- Distinguish between a first and second messenger.
- Define kinase and target cell.
- Identify the 3 domains of a transmembrane receptor.
- Define signal amplification.
- Identify the steps involved when membrane G proteins are activated and then lead to the production of second messengers.
Membrane Transport
- Define key terms such as diffusion, osmosis, osmotic pressure, aquaporin, facilitated diffusion (aka passive transport), voltage, ligand, mechanically regulated membrane channels, channel gating, solution, symport, and antiport.
- Determine influencing factors in the rate of diffusion.
- Predict the effects of osmotic pressure.
- Determine what happens to a red blood cell (RBC) if placed in an isotonic solution, a hypotonic solution, or a hypertonic solution.
- Determine the effect of ion channels (ether closed or open) in a cell membrane.
- Define voltage, ligand, and mechanically regulated membrane channels.
- Identify characteristics and examples of active transport (both primary and secondary).
Membrane Potentials
- Determine where an electrical potential exists across the cell membrane.
- Identify the cells that have a resting membrane potential or are polarized.
- Identify the average resting membrane potential of a cell and the meaning of its negative sign.
- Calculate the potassium equilibrium potential of a cell using the Nernst equation.
- Determine the difference between the resting membrane potential and the equilibrium potential when only potassium ions are involved.
- Identify the main contributing factors to the establishment of the membrane potential.
- Identify the role of the Na/K pump in maintaining the resting membrane potential.
Epithelial Transport
- Define key terms such as histology, tissue, tight junction, basement membrane, and transcellular and paracellular transport.
- Identify the four overall types of tissue.
- Identify the locations where epithelium may be found.
- Identify the function and characteristics of epithelium, including its regeneration ability and vascularity.
- Identify the properties of epithelial tissues that affect molecule movement.
- Distinguish between tight and leaky epithelia.