Biol 353 Advanced Human
Physiology
David F. Moffett
What is physiology?
• Physiology is the science of how animals work. In this
course, we concentrate for the most part on the integrative
and systemic aspects of body function.
• Although the topics will be presented largely from the point
of view of the human organism, the processes to be
described apply quite largely to all mammals – indeed a
great part of the knowledge of how the human body works
is derived from studies using the rat, the cat, the rabbit and
the dog as animal models.
• The mammalian body is the most complex fully-integrated
system known. This complexity presents a challenge for
investigators and clinicians as well as students.
Complex integrated systems and
homeostasis
• Homeostasis of the internal environment – a
concept advanced by the late 19th century French
physiologist Claude Bernard - means regulated
stability
• Body temperature, blood pressure, and volume
and composition of extracellular fluid are
systemic variables regulated by coordinating the
responses of multiple organ systems. Much of
the course will be directed at how integrated
systems cooperate to accomplish homeostasis.
Course Materials
• Since you will be able to download all of the
relevant lecture graphics from the course website
at www.sbs.wsu.edu/biol353/, there is no need
for a separate text. If you cannot be happy
without a text, the one I like best is by Boron and
Boulpaep (Saunders). The most recent edition is
expensive as a new book, but used copies can be
bought from Amazon.com.
• Likewise, you will be able to download laboratory
instructions from the course website, so you
don’t have to purchase a lab manual.
Contacting the instructor
• Call 5-8122 – if you leave a message, please include your
name and telephone number.
• Email at dfmoffett@gmail.com. Keep in mind that I may
not check this account during evening or weekend hours.
• If you need face time with me, contact me by one of these
methods or after class; we can schedule a mutually
convenient time. Also, please note that I will be available to
meet with students each Friday during the 2:00-3:00 PM
hour at the downstairs lounge in Cleveland Hall.
• For issues having to do with the laboratory part of the
course, your first recourse is usually the instructor in charge
of your section. This person will give you contact
information at the first meeting of your lab section.
Tests and Grading
• There will be three hour tests more or less evenly spaced
through the semester; these and the 3-hour final exam will
account for 60% of your grade.
• The remaining 40% is based on 5 written laboratory reports
and a written evaluation by your laboratory instructor.
• Letter grades will be awarded on the basis of the
distribution of final scores. An estimate of where you stand
letter-grade-wise will be provided after each hour test and
the accuracy of this prediction will grow with each hour
test.
• As a rule, the median score will be the line of division
between the lowest B- and the highest C+, so ½ of the class
will be likely to receive a grade of B- or higher.
Some rules
• Makeup tests are possible in case of an illness as recognized by your
doctor, a family emergency as recognized by the Dean of Students,
or a WSU-sponsored activity. They will not necessarily replicate the
format of the regular tests.
• Please note that an hour test is scheduled on the Friday before
Spring Break – this is more or less dictated by the way the semester
cookie crumbles when you try to break it into 4 pieces. Make your
spring-break travel plans accordingly.
• Laboratory reports are due at the beginning of the lab meeting on
the day indicated in the syllabus. Alternative arrangements must be
made with your TA in advance. Your TA has the option to refuse
late work that arrives without a prior agreement.
Laboratory
• The laboratory experience is centered around surgical
experiments using the rabbit as the animal model.
• These exercises have been repeatedly approved by the WSU
Institutional Animal Care and Protection Committee. The WSU
Campus Veterinarian provides training and consultation for
the teaching staff who oversee these exercises.
• The animals to be used are purpose-reared and have not been
anyone’s pets.
• Many students are looking forward to the opportunity to carry
out these exercises; others will feel some trepidation. If you
are one of the latter, please leave yourself open to the
possibility that these will turn out to be important learning
experiences.
Important University Announcements
• Students with disabilities: Reasonable accommodations are available for
students with a documented disability. If you have a disability and may
need accommodations to fully participate in this class, please visit the
Access Center. All accommodations MUST be approved through the
Access Center (Washington Building, Room 217). Please stop by or call
509-335-3417 to make an appointment with a disability specialist.
• Safety on campus: Washington State University is committed to
maintaining a safe environment for its faculty, staff, and students. Every
member of the campus community should recognize that safety is a
shared responsibility and that each of us has a personal role in campus
safety. All faculty, staff, and students should know the appropriate actions
to take when an emergency arises. The administrators ask that all faculty,
staff, and students visit the University emergency management web site at
http://oem.wsu.edu/emergencies to become familiar with the student
and classroom emergency information provided.
Academic Integrity and
Professionalism
• Many of you will enter professions or
positions of responsibility that carry an ethical
obligation, so learning professionalism is part
of your education. The following are a couple
of important aspects of professionalism that
apply to this course.
• All work that you submit is your own.
• The value of every person is respected.
A little about the instructor
• David F. Moffett grew up in North Carolina, so he still talks a little
funny.
• He is a graduate of Duke University and the University of Miami.
• He completed postdoctoral training at Duke University Medical
Center.
• He has been a visiting professor at the University of Texas Medical
Branch – Galveston and at the University of Alberta – Edmonton.
• He is the author of more than 60 journal articles and review
chapters and two textbooks.
• His current research on the physiology of mosquitoes is funded by
the NIH.
• He and his wife and son are the proprietors of Wawawai Canyon
Winery