COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL PHYSIOLOGY

STRUCTURE/FUNCTION AS A CORE PRINCIPLE OF MEDICAL PHYSIOLOGY

Zeleke Endalew (BSc, MSc Phys. )

Objectives

After completing this session learners are expected to should know:

• The Structural organization of the cell
• The Functional organization of the cell
• Understand structure/function relationship as one of the core principles of medical
physiology
Outline

• Definition
• Structural organization of the cell
• Functional organization of the cell
• Structure/function relationships as core principle of medical physiology
• Summary
• References
Definition

• Physiology is a science marked by the study of structure- function relations. these

relations exist within and between levels of biological organization.
• The two disciplines are closely interrelated because the functional role of a part depends
on how it is made.
• Physical mechanisms mediate these relations by providing explanation for how physical
structures interact to support biological function.
Cont’d…

• To understand the behavior of the organism requires understanding the relationship

between the structure and function of the organism.
• The structure of the organism both enables particular functions and constrains functions
 makes them possible and determines the magnitude of what happens
 limits what can happen and the magnitude of what happens.
Structural Organization

Chemical level – atoms form molecules

Cellular level – cells and their subunits
Tissue level – a group of cells performing a common function
Organ level – a discrete structure made up of more than one tissue
Organ system – organs working together for a common purpose
Organism – the result of all simpler levels working together
Structural Organization…

carbon DNA organelle

atom molecule
cell

tissue
organism

organ
system
organ
Structural Organization…
Tissue types of human body

 Group of cells with specific

function

Epithelial

 connective

 muscle, and

nerve tissues
Epithelial tissues: types
Connective tissue: types
Tissues …

 Muscle cells:
 Smooth muscle: usually located in
our internal organs (involuntary)
 Striated muscle: skeletal (voluntary)

 Cardiac

 Involuntary, striated, single

nucleus
TISSUES …

 Nerve tissue:
 composed of neurons and neuroglia

 Neurons
 Most are myelinated (formed by
oligodendrocytes)
TYPES OF NEUROGLIA
STRUCTURE/FUNCTION AS CORE PRINCIPLE

• This “core principle” is about the interaction between the way in which the pieces of a
mechanism are assembled into a system and the functions that the system can carry
out.
• However, it also describes several very specific examples of commonalities that extend
across many different physiological systems.
• For example, when two systems carry out similar functions, certain features of their
structure can be expected to be similar.
STRUCTURE/FUNCTION AS CORE PRINCIPLE …

The term “structure/function” is used to

I. Emphasize the importance of understanding the arrangement of the system
components (structure or anatomy) that gives rise to a mechanism or response
(function or physiology)
• The heart offers several examples of “structure/function” relationships that are important
 Conduction of the excitation generated at the sinoatrial node spreads across the atria
by cell-cell communication;
 cardiac muscle cells, unlike skeletal muscle cells, have gap junctions between
myocytes through which current generated by one cell can stimulate neighboring
cells.
 Excitation reaches the atrioventricular node where it is delayed, thus ensuring that
the atria can fill the ventricles before the ventricles contract.
• the heart has two pumps in series; the right heart perfuses the lungs while the
left heart perfuses the rest of the body.
 The flow of blood through the heart, and the filling of the ventricles, is determined by
the presence of four heart valves.
 The opening and closing of these valves are determined by their location and the
pressures that are present on either side of the valves.
 When the valves fail to open and close properly, cardiac function is altered.
• The respiratory system can also be taken as an example
• Elastic recoil
• cilia
• Another example is the mechanism linking skeletal muscle excitation and the contraction
of the excited muscle.
• both the structure of the T-tubules and the function of the gated channels in the
membrane need to be known in order to understand excitation-contraction coupling.
II. The term “structure/function” is also used to signal the importance of the
dimensions (surface area and thickness) of a structure.
• Solute movement (flux) across any membrane is described by the Fick’s law
• the larger the area over which diffusion can occur, the greater the flux for any
concentration gradient.
Examples
1. The movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the lungs and in the
tissues must meet the metabolic needs of the body.
Both gases move by passive diffusion, and a physiologically adequate
flux of each gas is dependent on there being a large surface area
across which diffusion down a concentration gradient can occur.
 The structure of the alveolar space provides the large area for oxygen uptake and
carbon dioxide elimination, and the very small diffusion distance presents further enhances the
gas exchange.
 In the tissues, gas exchange between capillary beds and the perfused tissue is facilitated by the
thin walls of the capillaries, and the high density of capillaries ensures a large surface area.
 In addition, the distance gases must move between the capillaries and the cells is small.
2. The active absorption of carbohydrates and proteins in the small intestine.

This process is facilitated by a structural, the presence of villi and microvilli,

 which dramatically increases the surface area of the mucosal surface of the small
intestine.
 This in turn allows for an increase in the number of membrane transporters through
which absorption can occur.
III. “structure/function” also refers to an essential property of the many protein
molecules that play important roles in essentially every physiological process.
• The three-dimensional structure of protein molecules is determined by the
physicochemical environment in which they are present.
• Enzymes, which are proteins, are inactivated or activated when certain ions bind to
them.
• Ligand binding to cell membrane receptors can give rise to a cascade of molecular changes
in which the structure of protein molecules is altered to either increase or decrease their activity.
• When the three-dimensional structure of membrane channels, whether ligand-binding or
voltage-gated, is altered, the passage of certain ions through the water filled pore is enabled.
• Channel selectivity (which ions can pass through the pore) is itself is a function of the structure
of the channel protein, and changes in structure of these proteins will alter their function.
• when a hemoglobin molecule binds the first oxygen molecule the structure of the
hemoglobin molecule is changed, causing its affinity for additional oxygen molecules to
change.
• Binding of carbon dioxide or hydrogen ions to hemoglobin changes its structure,
changing the binding of oxygen
The relationship between structure and function runs in both directions .
 “structure function” i.e. changes in function or use can give rise to changes in structure.
 For example, long-term exercise (a change in function) results in hypertrophy of the
exercising muscle (a change in structure).
• Exercise can also lead to conversion between the two types fibers.
• lack of use of a muscle (a change in function) can lead to atrophy of the muscle (a
change in structure).
• Weight-bearing exercises (function) alter bone remodeling and can lead to changes in the
shape (structure) of the affected bones.
• Extended periods of time under zero gravity conditions (a change in function) lead to
decalcification of bone and changes in bone density (a change in structure).
• The effect of aerobic exercise training; the heart has to work harder, leading to a number
of changes to the cardiac vasculature that improve cardiac performance.
SUMMARY

Every physical object is made up of some number of component parts arranged in a

particular 3-D structure. The objects of interest in physiology span all levels of
organization from molecules and ions to organ systems.
• Biological structures constrain the features of the functions that they generate (at
every level of organization)
• The arrangement of elements making up a tissue or organ (its structure) determines
it function.
• The physical dimensions (surface area, thickness - structure) are determinants of the
flux of substances across a transport barrier (function).
• The 3-D structure of proteins determine their function
• Changes in function can give rise to changes in the structures that generate them.
REFERENCES

• Michael J, McFarland J. Another look at the core concepts of physiology: revisions and resources. Adv
Physiol Educ 44: 752–762, 2020. doi:10.1152/advan.00114.2020.

• Guyton and Hall, Text book of Medical Physiology,13 th edition.

• Clinically oriented anatomy Keith L. Moor, Arthur F. Dally, Ann MR Agur Sixth edition

• Essentials of medical physiology sixth edition

• Jeffrey S. Bland .Understanding Structure and Function as a Model for 21st-Century Health Care,
2018

• Campbell Biology, Twelfth Edition