Duration
25h Th, 2h Pr
Number of credits
| Bachelor in physiotherapy and rehabilitation | 4 crédits | |||
| Bachelor in motor sciences | 4 crédits |
Lecturer
Substitute(s)
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
Teacher : S. Wislet, Professeure associée
The classical definition of General Physiology is the study of the properties which are common to all cells and living beings (Claude Bernard).
Among these common properties, there are the major metabolic pathways already studied during the General Biochemistry lectures. The ability for a cell or for a pluricellular living being to keep constant its internal environment despite variations of the external environment is an other very important property common to all cells and living beings. This constance is favorable and required for optimal biochemical reactions. This property is called homeostasis and is also studied by General Physiology.
Homeostasis includes the possibility for a cell to detect a modification in its environment or an external information and to respond it appropriately. However all cells or all cells in a living organism are not identical. They are able to provide particular function and thus, have specific and different internal environment given their function. In consequence, cells have to dialog with each other and the integration of all these informations at the cellular level is also the purpose of General Physiology.
Conceptually, the regulation of internal environment involves: 1) detection of a modification by various sensor systems of the cell or of the body, 2) the transmission of an information from the sensor to a central integrator and 3) an appropriate response of this integrative centre. This response could be either direct or performed by an effector after a new step of transmission which carries now the response information. Such an approach emphasizes the importance of physical borders between internal and external fluid in a cell or in a living organism. Thus, it is at the cell membrane that most of the mechanisms involved in sensing (receptors) and in response (secretion, ion fluxes, ...) are present.
The general objectives of these lectures are:
1) To understand the need to maintain a constant internal environment in order to keep the good conditions for biochemical reactions. Moreover, the internal environment could be a little bit different in various cell compartments (lysosomes, nucleus, ...).
2) To understand how molecules move across a compartment or through a biological membrane.
3) To understand the impact on the osmotic pressure of the diffusion of molecules.
4) To understand the phenomenon of osmosis in cell in which the molecule concentration in cytoplasm is higher than in the external fluid. This situation requires to make the cell membrane impermeant to sodium.
5) To understand the consequences on the membrane potential of the inhomogenous distribution of various ionic species on both sides of a biological membrane.
6) To understand how living beings have used the existence of this membrane potential to signalize, particularly in the nervous system.
7) To apply all these concepts to the muscular contraction.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
- To be able to explain how the cell structure is maintained meanwhile this cell assume a particular function (cell membrane permeability, cellular volume regulation, muscle contraction, transmission of nervous information ...).
- To be able to give a molecular explanation to the phenomenon characterizing the living organisms.
- To be able to give a global explanation about the complexity of the coordination system regulating the interactions between the various systems of the organism.
- To be able to describe the relationships between specific metabolic pathways and the environmental properties.
- To be able to use all these informations to start in good conditions the study of Human Physiology.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Upstream : Biology, Chemistry, Physics and General Biochemistry.
This course constitutes an introduction to Human Biochemistry, Human Physiology and Pathology.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Lectures will be ex cathedra.
Practicle course: online and Mantarory
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Further information:
1. General introduction, homeostasis.
1. Homeostasis of internal environment.
2. Physico-chemical basis of internal regulation.
2. Diffusion and cell membrane permeability.
3. Osmotic pressure and water displacements.
3. Ionic channels and excitable membranes.
4. Ionic channels.
5. Electrical consequences of ionic gradients.
6. Passive electrical properties of cell membranes.
7. Action potential onset and propagation.
8. Ionic channels diversity.
4. Solutes transports.9. Electrochemical potential energy
10. Passive transport of solutes
11. Active transport.
5. Message Transduction.
12. Ligand-receptor couple and second messengers.
6. Molecular motors.
13 Excitation/contraction coupling in muscles.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- eCampus
Further information:
Syllabus is available September either written (Presses Universitaires) or electronically (files available in Intranet). All the files used for lectures (illustrations and resumes) will also be available just before each lectures.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire )
Further information:
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire True/False)
Additional information:
The exam will consist of multiple choices questions. Questions will be dedicated to various aspects developed during the ex-cathedra lectures or during practical work sessions. These aspects are noting more than an experimental approach of various concepts explained during the ex-cathedra lectures.
If practical work report is missing or if the student was absent at a practical work session without any justification, the final note (on twenty) will be decreased by two points.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
Contacts
Sabine Wislet, PhD
Associate Professor
Tél. ULg : 32 4 366 38 04
Couriel : S.Wislet@uliege.be
Larisia Bourdoux
Secretary
Tél ULg : 32 4 366 59 50
Couriel : Larisia.Bourdoux@uliege.be