MEDICAL BIOLOGY, HUMAN ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY - Ya.I. Fedoniuk 2010

ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, PATHOLOGY

SECTION 3. ANATOMICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE SELF-REGULATION OF BODY FUNCTIONS

NERVOUS MECHANISMS OF PHYSIOLOGICAL REGULATION

Humans live in three environments: external, internal, and social. Constant changes occur within these environments, to which the Organism adapts; normal human vital activity is possible solely due to this capacity. Furthermore, The Human Body comprises numerous functional systems (cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, etc.), whose Functions must be coordinated with one another in any given situation. The activity of the Central Nervous system, which ensures the coordination of body functions and its interaction with the surrounding environments, is referred to as coordination. Thus, the central nervous system integrates the organism into a single, cohesive entity. This coordinative (integrative) function is carried out through the reception of information regarding environmental changes from receptors via afferent nerves to the central nervous system, where this information undergoes analysis and synthesis. Analysis involves the isolation and differentiation of various environmental stimuli, whereas synthesis is manifested in the generalization of these stimuli. The synthesized response, in the form of excitation, is transmitted via efferent nerves from the central nervous system to the effector Organs. The central nervous system regulates all Functions of the body's organs and systems; this regulation is termed reflex or neural regulation. Coordinative activity is mediated by two fundamental physiological processes within the central nervous system: Excitation and Inhibition.