Animal Physiology

Aim

After completing the course, the student should be able to:

• describe orally and in writing how animals have adapted and adapt to the environment they live in and to specific situations they encounter during their lives.
• explain orally using scientific language how different physiological mechanisms lead to the body's homeostasis.
• design, implement and report a practical study that analyzes the body's response to different challenges such as aerobic training, exposure to lower or higher temperatures or breath holding.

Content

Through the presentation of the different body systems the course will assist the students in deepening the understanding of such systems as well as how they are integrated in different environmental conditions or environments such as high or low temperatures (global warming), dry environments, high altitudes, underwater environments, scarce resources (fasting and starvation). Special focus will be placed on the integration of two or more physiological systems. For example, life under water or at high altitude require the coordination of the circulatory and respiratory systems in birds and mammals. Understanding live in the desert requires the integration of the kidneys with thermoregulation and water loss.