Chapter 1 (Functional Organization of the Human Body and Control of the “Internal Environment”)

• Q: What is the definition of physiology?
  A: Physiology is the science that seeks to explain the physical and chemical mechanisms that are responsible for the origin, development, and progression of life.
• Q: What does the science of human physiology attempt to explain?
  A: Human physiology attempts to explain the specific characteristics and mechanisms of the human body that make it a living being.
• Q: What is the functional purpose of sensations like hunger, fear, and cold?
  A: Hunger makes us seek food, fear makes us seek refuge, and sensations of cold make us look for warmth, all as part of complex control systems for survival.
• Q: What is the basic living unit of the body?
  A: The cell.
• Q: Approximately what percentage of the adult human body is fluid?
  A: About 60 percent.
• Q: Who coined the term "homeostasis" and in what year?
  A: The American physiologist Walter Cannon, in 1929.
• Q: What is the definition of homeostasis?
  A: The maintenance of nearly constant conditions in the internal environment.
• Q: What is the formula for calculating the gain of a negative feedback control system?
  A: Gain = Correction / Error
• Q: What is the normal value for body temperature?
  A: 98.4 °F (37.0 °C)