Paper No. :09 Physiology and Sports Anthropology Module :1 Introduction to Physiological Anthropology Development Team Prof. Anup Kumar Kapoor Principal Investigator Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi Paper Coordinator Dr. Rashmi Sinha IGNOU, Delhi Content Writer Dr. Rashmi Sinha IGNOU, Delhi Content Reviewer Prof. Satwanti Kapoor Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi 1 Physiology and Sports Anthropology Anthropology Introduction to Physiological Anthropology Description of Module Subject Name Anthropology Paper Name 09 Physiology and Sports Anthropology Module Name/Title Introduction to Physiological Anthropology Module Id 1 2 Physiology and Sports Anthropology Anthropology Introduction to Physiological Anthropology Contents Introduction 1. History of Physiology 2. Human Physiology 3. Homeostasis: A defining Feature of Physiology 4. The Scope and Applications of Physiological Anthropology Summary Learning objectives 1. To know about Physiology 2. To have an idea about its history and origin 3. To know about the inter-relatedness of Physiology and Physiological Anthropology by knowing about their scopes 4. To know about homeostasis, an important defining feature of Physiology 3 Physiology and Sports Anthropology Anthropology Introduction to Physiological Anthropology Introduction Physiology is the science of life, which endeavors to appreciate the mechanisms of living, from the molecular basis of cell function to the integrated behaviour of the whole body with a holistic approach. It is the study of function closely related to anatomy a study of form. Due to the recurrent association between form and function, physiology and anatomy are essentially linked and are studied in tandem as part of a medical program. Much of the foundation of knowledge in human physiology was provided by animal experimentation. Research in physiology facilitates in not only understanding the working of the body, but also to comprehend what goes wrong in disease and to identify new treatments for disease. Physiology is an experimental science that forms the basis for biological and clinical sciences that gives an explanation to the detection, prevention and treatment of disease. 1. History of Physiology Physiological studies date back to ancient civilizations of India (Burma and Chakravorty, 2011, Zimmermann, 2015). Archeological and historical records human physiology, as a discipline started around 420 BC in ancient Greece at the Hippocratic School of Medicine. Hippocrates of Kos (460-370 BC), known as the "father of medicine" along with his students wrote extensively on physiology and established medicine as its own discipline. Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC), whose focus was on the relationship between structure and function, is also regarded as the pioneer of physiology. The treasured thoughts of Aristotle and his stress on the relationship between structure and function marked the establishment of physiology in ancient Greece. Claudius Galenus (c. 126–199 AD), known as Galen, a prominent Greek physician in ancient Rome, dissected animals and established himself an expert anatomist and physiologist. According to him, monkeys who walked on two legs would probably provide researchers with information that are applicable to humans. Galen also known as the "founder of experimental physiology", was the first to use experiments to probe the functions of the. It was Jean Fernel (1497 - 1558), a French physician, who introduced the term "physiology". There were only sporadic landmarks during the earlier century until the advent of 19th century when physiology started making rapid advancements. Matthias Schleiden (1804-1881), a German botanist, and Theodor Schwann (1810-1882), a German physiologist, co-founders of the cell theory stated that every living thing or organisms are made up of units called cells; with cells being the basic unit structure of everything that lives. Claude Bernard (1813-1878), a French physiologist, further proposed and discovered the concept of milieu interieur (the environment within) in which he refers to the extra-cellular fluid environment 4 Physiology and Sports Anthropology Anthropology Introduction to Physiological Anthropology which protects tissues and organs of multicellular living organisms. It was American physiologist Walter Cannon (1871-1945), who named it "homeostasis" later. By homeostasis, Cannon meant "the maintenance of steady states in the body and the physiological processes through which they are regulated" (Brown and Fee, 2002). Joseph Lister (1858) worked on the reasons for blood coagulation and inflammation that arose following injuries and surgical wounds. He later discovered antiseptics, whose properties could dramatically reduce surgical mortality rates. During the 1870s, when Harvard University, USA, started a medical physiology program, Henry Bowditch was its first full -time faculty member. Ivan Pavlov (1891) famous for his Pavlov’s experiment observed how dogs' saliva production would respond to various sounds and other stimuli. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology in 1904. It was during this time that the scientists showed increased interest in how non-human beings function. 20th century witnessed the advent of comparative physiology and ecophysiology. Knut Schmidt- Nielsen and George Bartholomew are prominent physiologists of this field and its advances led to evolutionary physiology becoming a distinct subdiscipline. The first hormone adrenaline from adrenal gland to be identified and synthesized was in 1901 by John Jacob Abel and Jokichi Takamine. In 1911, J. S. Haldane and other respiratory physiologists, climbed to Pike's Peak to study the effect of altitude on human breathing. Charles Best and Frederick Banting who won the Nobel Prize in 1923 isolated insulin in dogs. Their study turned diabetes from a deadly disease to a chronic one. Andrew Huxley and Alan Hodgkin (1952) discovered the ionic mechanism which showed that nerve impulses are transmitted. With the advances in the physiological studies of the heart, Christiaan Barnard, South Africa, performed the first successful human heart transplant in 1967. Physiologists during 1960’s realized that there was a sharp fall in blood pressure in snakebite victims which resulted in their fainting. Continued work resulted in isolation of the compound in the snake venom that blocked ACE (angiotensin converting enzyyme), an enzyme that controls blood pressure. Consequently research on ACE inhibitors, drugs for controlling hypertension (high blood pressure), were developed and later approved by the US FDA. The discovery of cystic fibrosis gene by Lap Chee Tsui, Jack Riordan and Francis Collins was in 1989. Paul Nurse, Leland Hartwell and Timothy Hunt in 2001 are responsible for discovery of the mechanism that regulates cell growth, division and death. 2. Human physiology Human physiology is the scientific study of normal body function to understand the cause-and-effect mechanisms of how cells, tissues, organs, and body systems work when in a healthy state. Human physiology seeks to understand the mechanisms that work to keep the human body alive and 5 Physiology and Sports Anthropology Anthropology Introduction to Physiological Anthropology functioning (Hall, 2011), through scientific enquiry into the nature of mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of humans, their organs, and the cells of which they are composed. The principal level of focus of physiology is at the level of organs and systems within systems. The endocrine and nervous systems play major roles in the reception and transmission of signals that integrate function in animals. It is a study of normal biological function, from cell to tissue, tissue to organ, and organ to system, as well as how the organism as a whole accomplishes particular tasks essential to life. In the study of physiology, the emphasis is on mechanisms— on exactly how a particular function is performed. For example, how is the heartbeat produced, and how is the heart rate regulated? How do we digest dietary fat? How is the blood sugar concentration regulated? The answers to these questions contain cause and-effect sequences. Human physiology is a part of the more general science of mammalian physiology, which is a subcategory of vertebrate physiology. The study of human physiology gains significance because it is the major scientific foundation of medicine and other health applications. This relationship is recognized by the Nobel Prize committee, which awards prizes in a category called “Physiology or Medicine.” (http://cristinafisiologia.org/arquivos/equilibrio_homeostase/fox_2009_chapter01_introd_physiol.pdf). It is a useful discipline for an understanding of physiological processes and mechanisms basic to all health professions. Homeostasis is a major aspect with regard to such interactions within plants as well as animals. The biological basis of the study of physiology, integration refers to the overlap of many functions of the systems of the human body, as well as its accompanied form. It is achieved through communication that occurs in a variety of ways, both electrical and chemical (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physiology). 3. Homeostasis: A defining Feature of Physiology An understanding of human physiology remains incomplete without the mention of homeostasis. During Aristotle’s era physicians agreed that food health was one way or another linked to a balance among, the multiple life-sustaining forces (“humors”) in the body. It took rather a very long