Animal Physiology Course

Lesson 1 • Homeostasis and Feedback Mechanisms

Defines homeostasis and explains negative and positive feedback loops. Provides the regulatory framework applied throughout all subsequent chapters.

Lesson 2 • Scope and History of Animal Physiology

Traces the discipline from early anatomists to modern integrative physiology. Contextualises why comparative approaches reveal universal biological principles.

Lesson 3 • Chemical and Cellular Basis of Life

Reviews biomolecules, membrane structure, and cell signalling essential for physiological processes. Bridges biochemistry to organ-level function.

Lesson 1 • Action Potential Generation and Propagation

Details voltage-gated channel dynamics producing the action potential spike. Covers conduction velocity and myelination effects on signal speed.

Lesson 2 • Sensory Physiology and Receptor Types

Examines how sensory receptors transduce stimuli into graded potentials. Links receptor adaptation and coding to perception and reflex arcs.

Lesson 3 • Neural Integration and Reflex Arcs

Analyses how neurons summate inputs and produce coordinated motor output. Demonstrates spinal reflex circuitry as a model of neural integration.

Lesson 4 • Synaptic Transmission and Neurotransmitters

Covers chemical synapse structure, vesicle release, and receptor binding. Introduces major neurotransmitter classes and their physiological roles.

Lesson 1 • Excitation-Contraction Coupling

Links motor neuron firing to calcium release and cross-bridge cycling. Builds directly on action potential and membrane potential concepts from Chapter 2.

Lesson 2 • Smooth and Cardiac Muscle Physiology

Compares smooth and cardiac muscle regulation to skeletal muscle. Introduces calmodulin-dependent contraction and cardiac pacemaker activity.

Lesson 3 • Muscle Mechanics and Force Production

Quantifies twitch, summation, and tetanus relationships and the length-tension curve. Connects fibre architecture to whole-muscle force output.

Lesson 4 • Muscle Fibre Types and Metabolism

Contrasts slow-oxidative, fast-oxidative, and fast-glycolytic fibres by metabolic and contractile properties. Explains fatigue mechanisms at the cellular level.

Lesson 1 • Vascular Physiology and Haemodynamics

Applies Poiseuille's law and Laplace's law to blood flow and vessel wall tension. Explains how vessel diameter and blood viscosity govern resistance.

Lesson 2 • Heart Structure and Cardiac Cycle

Maps cardiac chambers, valves, and the sequence of systole and diastole. Builds on cardiac muscle properties introduced in Chapter 3.

Lesson 3 • Regulation of Blood Pressure

Integrates baroreceptor reflexes, hormonal signals, and renal mechanisms controlling arterial pressure. Demonstrates multi-system homeostatic coordination.

Lesson 4 • Electrical Conduction System

Traces impulse generation from the SA node through the Purkinje network. Connects pacemaker potentials to coordinated ventricular contraction.

Lesson 1 • Principles of Gas Exchange

Applies Fick's law of diffusion to respiratory surface design. Establishes partial pressure gradients as the driving force for O2 and CO2 movement.

Lesson 2 • Neural Control of Ventilation

Identifies brainstem respiratory centres and chemoreceptor inputs regulating breathing rate and depth. Integrates with cardiovascular control from Chapter 4.

Lesson 3 • Ventilation Mechanics in Mammals

Describes lung volumes, compliance, and the pressure changes driving airflow. Connects diaphragm and intercostal muscle activity to tidal breathing.

Lesson 4 • Comparative Respiratory Strategies

Contrasts gill ventilation, avian air sac systems, and insect tracheal networks. Reveals how respiratory design matches metabolic demand and habitat.

Lesson 1 • Acid-Base Regulation by the Kidney

Analyses renal bicarbonate reclamation, proton secretion, and ammonium excretion. Integrates with respiratory CO2 control from Chapter 5.

Lesson 2 • Comparative Osmoregulatory Strategies

Contrasts osmoconformers, osmoregulators, and the specialised organs of marine and freshwater animals. Highlights evolutionary solutions to osmotic stress.

Lesson 3 • Urine Concentration Mechanisms

Explains the medullary osmotic gradient and ADH-driven aquaporin insertion. Connects hormonal regulation to final urine osmolarity.

Lesson 4 • Nephron Structure and Filtration

Maps nephron segments and explains glomerular filtration rate determinants. Builds on Starling forces and fluid compartment concepts from Chapter 1.

Lesson 1 • Principles of Hormone Action

Classifies hormones by chemical nature and receptor location, linking structure to signalling mechanism. Establishes dose-response and receptor saturation concepts.

Lesson 2 • Adrenal and Stress Physiology

Contrasts cortical glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid actions with medullary catecholamine responses. Explains acute vs. chronic stress physiology.

Lesson 3 • Reproductive Endocrinology

Traces HPG axis control of gametogenesis, steroidogenesis, and reproductive cycles. Introduces photoperiod and environmental cues modulating reproduction.

Lesson 4 • Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis

Maps releasing hormones, anterior pituitary tropic hormones, and long-loop feedback. Serves as the master regulatory hub connecting neural and endocrine systems.

Lesson 1 • Bioenergetics and Metabolic Rate

Defines basal, standard, and field metabolic rates and methods for their measurement. Establishes energy currency concepts extended from Chapter 1.

Lesson 2 • Ectotherm Thermoregulation

Analyses behavioural and physiological mechanisms ectotherms use to regulate body temperature. Connects thermal performance curves to fitness consequences.

Lesson 3 • Heat Exchange Mechanisms

Quantifies conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation as routes of heat gain and loss. Provides physical basis for all thermoregulatory strategies.

Lesson 4 • Endotherm Thermoregulation

Explains hypothalamic thermostat function, shivering, and non-shivering thermogenesis in endotherms. Integrates thyroid and adrenal hormones from Chapter 7.