Effects of Aging on Human Physiology

The provided content discusses the physiological aspects of human body, including the effects of aging on bodily functions and structures. It highlights three common types of disorders that old patients may suffer from: arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and impairment of pulmonary tissues. The report emphasizes the importance of regular routine measures, effective medication, patient treatment, and a nutritious diet in care plans for these conditions. Additionally, it stresses the need to understand the impact of aging on bodily functions and structures and develop effective care plans to respond to various chronic conditions.

Physiological Principles

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction....................................................................................................................................3
Task 1 .............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Anatomical features of human body ....................................................................................3
1.2 Body system interact to maintain life and also contribute to bodily growth.........................4
Task 2..............................................................................................................................................4
2.1 Normal body responses to everyday activities......................................................................4
2.2 Body responses to external influences like daily activities ..................................................5
2.3 Body coordinated and regulates its internal activities...........................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
A).................................................................................................................................................6
B).................................................................................................................................................8
C) ................................................................................................................................................9
Task 4............................................................................................................................................10
A) Comparison of structural and functional body changes ......................................................10
B) Assessing impact of age related disorders ...........................................................................10
C) Effects of common types of disorders to routine care .........................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
REFERENCE................................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Physiology is critical study to understand living things functions and its basic principles
are related to human bodies. This report is articulated to understand the principles of physiology
and with the help of this report the structure and functions of human body will be discussed. This
present report will help to understand relationship between body functioning and its related
physiology. The overall purpose of this report is to enhance the knowledge and understanding
about human body structure and its functions and it is also describes individual care.
TASK 1
1.1 Anatomical features of human body
Gross bodily features- Human body includes head, neck, trunk, hands and legs. In this trunk
includes thorax and abdomen part of body. The critical organs of body are housed within
trunk like in upper chest both heart and lungs are covered by rib cage.
The skeletal structure- An internal framework of body with 206 bones and it is divided into
appendicular skeleton (formed by pelvis & pectorial girdle and bones of upper & lower
limbs) and axial skeleton (formed by vertebral column, rib cage, skull and other bones. It
serves functions such as protection, support, movement, production, storage and endocrine
regulation ( Sherwood, 2015).
Soft tissues- They support, connect and surround other organs and structures of human body and
these tissues includes ligaments, tendons, nerves skin, muscles, blood vessels etc. They are
highly deformable in humans and they are exemplified by fibroblast, cartilage, ganglion,
peripheral nerve and adipocytes. Normally soft tissues are very hydrated because of ground
substances.
Body organs- Body organs performs specific function in human body and they are collection of
tissues and tissues are collection of millions of cells. In human body there are 78 organs
which vary by their actions, functions and sizes. With respect to size and weight, skin is the
largest organ of body. The body organs are composed of main tissues such as parenchyma,
stroma and sporadic. In human body the various systems such as digestive, respiratory,
urinary, reproductive, circulatory and nervous system include body organs to perform
specific tasks (Schilder, 2013).

1.2 Body system interact to maintain life and also contribute to bodily growth
I. Cardiovascular / respiratory system- The respiratory and cardiovascular system work
together for providing oxygen to tissues and getting out the carbon dioxide. The
respiratory system supply oxygen to blood and remove carbon dioxide. Heart receive
blood with low oxygen, heart pump it to lungs than lungs get fresh air and oxygen is
transferred to blood. Now blood has fresh oxygen and again it return it to heart then heart
pumps blood to all body parts.
II. Digestive / excretory system- Digestive system breaks down food and extract the
nutrients from food for energy and after this excretory system removes the wastage from
body. In this liver plays a important role because it relates to both systems, in this liver
receives blood from intestine than filter out the post digestive waste like alcohol and
drugs before this blood is again cycled back to body (Andreassi, 2013). After this, it
releases the bile which becomes part of stool and during defecation that stool is
eliminated from body. In this epiglottis stops food from going into the lungs.
III. Nervous / sensory system- Sensory system is responsible for processing the sensory
information and sensory system is also a part of nervous system. The sensory system
contains neural pathways and sensory receptors. With the help of sensory receptors,
sensory information like smell, hot or cold is received and this information is send to
nervous system. Nervous system give reaction on that stimuli like if a human touches a
hot pan than brain will give signal to remove the hand from that pan (Foley and Lewin,
2013).
TASK 2
2.1 Normal body responses to everyday activities
 A sudden shock- In medical, shock is a defence response to a sudden fall in blood
pressure and it is also a state of physical shutdown. There are three types of shock such as
cardiogenic, neurogenic and hypovolemic shocks. The cardiogenic shock happens at the
time when heart is damaged and it unable to supply the sufficient blood to human body.
At last it can be result of heart failure or heart attack. In shock, body gives respond by
constricting blood vessels in hands and feet. It is helpful to conserve blood flow to organs

but body release the chemical hormones which can reverse the initial response of body.
At this situation, blood pressure falls ( Medical Physiology, 2010).
 Eating too quickly or eating too much- Eating too quickly can cause bloating, stomach
gas, flatulence and other digestive problems. Rushing down food reduces the amount of
saliva and enzymes which are mixed into food. In hurry, human swallow air with the
meal which can cause bloating and stomach gas. Fast eating process is linked to increase
in volume of meal which can lead to gain extra weight.
 Strenuous physical activity- At the time of physical activity, changes happens in few
body organs such as muscles, lungs, heart, brain, joint and bones. Physical activities helps
to normalize insulin, glucose and leptin levels and strenuous activity helps to prevent
chronic diseases. At the time of physical activity like running, the heart rate increases and
body wants more oxygen (Hall, 2015).
2.2 Body responses to external influences like daily activities
At the time of daily activities, various biological effects occur in human body. For
example at the time of physical activity, changes occurs in organs such as:
 Strenuous physical activity- In running situation, muscles use ATP and glucose for
movement and contraction. In physical exercise, body needs extra oxygen so breathing
also increases. For this purpose, heart starts more pumping to supply bloods to muscles
and in this heart rate increases. Further, muscles needs more oxygen through this
breathing rate also increases. The increment in blood flows is beneficial for brain because
it promote the growth of new cells of brain (Anatomy and physiology, 2010).
 Eating too quickly or eating too much- In situation of eating too quickly or overeating,
functions of digestive system faces many problems. The overeating directly relates with
eating too quickly because brain takes 20 minutes to register fullness of stomach. And in
case of overeating, pancreas produces more insulin which can lead to diabetes and
through overeating, human becomes obese.
 A sudden shock- In case of sudden shock, body gives sudden response in sudden
situation such as constricting blood vessels and falls in blood pressure. Shock involves
problems such as in body there is not enough fluid in bloodstream, too much expansion

of blood vessels and heart fails to pump the sufficient blood. In this blood pressure
become very low and enough blood is not pushed out to reach tissues (Handler, 2009).
2.3 Body coordinated and regulates its internal activities
The body coordination involves adjustments of internal activities, organs and body
systems. In the coordination system, organs work together to process received information from
external stimuli and according to that it produces appropriate response. Humans have two
coordination system such as nervous system and endocrine system. In human, the nervous
system regulates both responses and activities of body (Boron and Boulpaep, 2012). This system
works with specialized cells, known as neurons and they transmit nerve impulses which are form
of information.
In this context the endocrine system coordinates and regulates the body functions by
means of hormones which are chemical substances. The functions which required maintained
responses are regulated by this system and this system also includes changes at the time of
growth and development (Principles of human physiology, 2011). This system contains major
endocrine glands such as parathyroid, thyroid, gonads and pancreas etc. These glands produces
the hormones which are chemical messenger and they are transported by blood throughout the
body. Both nervous system and endocrine system coordinates the several activities of body parts
such as nervous system reacts quickly to both internal and external stimuli and at the same time
endocrine system is slower to perform act. The nervous system is developed to protect human
body from dangers with the help of its interpretations and stimuli. In this nervous system interact
with endocrine system to produce hormones which influence behaviour and feeling towards
external stimuli (Salvo, 2015).
For example, human touches hot bowl, the sensory receptors register the pain and this
information travel to reach brain through sensory nerves. Brain receives information that hand is
in danger in current position of being injured by hot bowl. In this situation, brain uses motor
nerves to give command to muscles to remove hand from bowl.
TASK 3
A)
1. Routinely measures

In health and social care it is very important to record the routine measures for correct
diagnosis of diseases. In the given scenario the following routine measures need to be recorded
by the health and care professionals for the following reasons.
Respect and dignity
It is very crucial to treat patient's of nursing home with respect and dignity. Therefore
routine measures of service users need to be carried out in a dignified manner. In the given case,
as a team leader of residential care home, I need to record the routine measures of clients in order
to make correct diagnosis of physical health condition of the person. The correct diagnosis may
help in treating the health condition in a timely manner (Plowman and Smith, D.L., 2013).
Service user's rights
In health and social care, it is very crucial to record the routine measures of patients on
ethical grounds. The health professionals need to consider the individual rights of service users
while treating them (Kenney, Wilmore and Costill, 2015).In the given scenario, as a team leader
of residential care home I will make sure that all patients are treated with utmost care and their
rights are safeguarded while routine measures are recorded.
Privacy
Health and social care workers need to protect the client's vital information in order to
secure it from the unauthorized access (Jenkins, Kemnitz and Tortora, 2011). It is also important
to maintain the patient's data safe while recording routine measures.
2. How gathered data is recorded?
In health and social care, routine measures are recorded in the following manner:
Temperature: Body temperature is one the important signs that need to be measured and
monitored for ensuring effective care of service users. Patient's body temperature is recorded by
Thermometer. It need to be recorded regularly with accuracy and precision. It is useful in
detecting pathogenic infection in body as body temperature raises when a disease causing
microbes enter the body.
Blood pressure: Blood pressure of care takers is recorded by an instrument called
Sphygmomanometer. The blood pressure is recorded as dual numbers diastolic pressure and
systolic pressure (Handler, 2009). Health professionals first measure systolic pressure and then
diastolic pressure.

Blood test: Blood test is recorded by taking the sample of patient's blood in a vial and various
test are performed by using that sample such as test for blood sugar, protein, hemoglobin and
pathogenic infection. The test outcomes provide essential information about patient's health
status.
3. What are they used for?
Various uses of Routine measures are as follows:
Decision making:
The most important usage of routine measures is that it enable the health and care
professionals in the given scenario in their decision making processes (Singh and et.al., 2015).
The routine measures such as blood tests, BMI, temperature, blood pressure, etc give essential
information about service user's physical condition. This information is used by health
professionals in making a suitable care plan for patient's which is a very important aspect of
health and social care.
Monitoring progress:
In addition to decision making process, recording routine measures is also very important
to monitor the progress of care takers (Sherwood, 2015).Through regular monitoring of
temperature, blood pressure and heat rate health care workers can keep a track of patient's health
progress in case of several diseases.
Legal issues
It is important for care professionals to record the routine measures of care takers with
accuracy and precision in order to design an effective care plan (Woodger, 2014). Failing to
record accurate routine measures may lead cause negative impact on patient's health which may
consequently lead to legal issues.
B)
BMI:
BMI stands for Body Mass Index records the patient's body weight in Kilograms divided
by square of his height in meters. It is used to measure weight of care takers to check their body
weight proportion according to their heights. If the weight lies within the normal range then the
person is healthy but if it is more than the recommended limits than the service user is said to be

overweight or obese. The BMI measures are valid and reliable in the diagnosis of lifestyle and
cardiovascular diseases among care takers.
Blood Pressure:
Blood pressure is a reliable routine measure to be conducted on care takers to diagnose the
symptoms of hypertension (Salvo, 2015).
Heart Rate:
Heart rate can be recorded by checking the pulse of care takers. It is the number of times
human heart beats every minute. It is very important to record heart rate of cardiovascular
patients regularly to track their health progress in response to prescribed medication.
C)
The vital information obtained from routine measures is very crucial to design a suitable
care plan for patients of the care home in the given scenario. The routine measures such as BMI
provide significant information regarding body weight of patients in order to find out the risk
factors associated with obesity. High BMI indicates that the patient is obese and may suffer
from severe lifestyle diseases such as hyperlipidaemia, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, etc.
This routine measure is useful in designing an effective care plan for affected patients which
include regular exercise regime and balanced diet (Boron and Boulpaep, 2012). The care plan
will benefit the care takers by reducing their body weight and controlling excessive fats, glucose
and cholesterol levels in body. Similarly if the blood pressure levels of patients is not within the
normal range then the health professionals may include certain medication in the care plan of the
affected individuals at the care home. In addition to this, the blood tests may be helpful in
detecting the deficiency of essential nutrients in body as well as presence of pathogenic infection
in affected persons. For instance if the blood test indicate that there is deficiency of iron in
person's body then the physicians may include supplements of iron in the care plan of the care
takers.

TASK 4
A) Comparison of structural and functional body changes
In order to provide a comparison of structural and functional body changes in adulthood,
later life and old age in dementia patients in the given scenario the following table points can be
referred:
In young age human body is well structures and functions normally. All the organs of the
body function properly. The skeletal system is strong during adulthood (Sharma and Goodwin,
2006). The respiratory, nervous, endocrine, digestive, circulatory and excretory systems function
effectively to carry out everyday activities in young adults. In addition to this, brain is efficient to
perform intellectual tasks properly and memory retention is good in normal humans. Risk of
development of mental disorders is very less in adulthood.
However with the advancing age, the body tends to perform everyday functions but there
is slight decline in the muscle strength and cells continue to mature. The mechanism of breathing
slows down and person may develop several lifestyle diseases due to unhealthy habits such as
lack of balanced diet and exercise. The calcium level tends to decline which may put the person
on the risk of osteoarthritis, a chronic condition peculiar to aging.
At old age, memory tends to degenerate due to reduced brain functioning and activities.
This leads to development of neurological disorders such as Dementia, Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's disease in older patients. Due to memory degeneration, neurons are lost which affect
the signal transmission in nervous system. Slow processing of information affects the body
responses in elderly people which largely impact coordination among body parts.
B) Assessing impact of age related disorders
1. Autoimmune related:
There are several autoimmune disorders that greatly impact elderly people. These include
Bullous Pemphigoid which is a skin related autoimmune disease that is characterized by
production of antibodies that react with immune effector T cells and are auto reactive in nature.
It simply means that immune system of patients attack their own healthy cells in skin and mouth
causing blisters and sores. Osteoarthritis is also a commonly found chronic disease among old
patients. Due to depletion of calcium the bones tend to become very fragile which put the old
person on high risk of fractures (Burrows and Loo, 2009).

2. Cardiovascular disease:
Age largely impact the cardiovascular system in older people which leads to changes in
cardiovascular physiology. With the increasing age there is a decrease in elasticity of the arterial
system. This causes increase in frequency of coronary artery diseases among older patients.
Further the blood vessels get thickened with progressive age which increase the chances of
severe cardiovascular diseases.
3. Impairment of pulmonary tissues:
With the advancing age, the respiratory system undergoes physiological, anatomical and
immunological alterations. The structural changes include deformity of rib cage which in turn
affect the expansion and contraction of lungs. This makes breathing mechanism difficult in
elderly patients (Plowman and Smith, 2013).
C) Effects of common types of disorders to routine care
The above mentioned disorders among old patients require following measures to be
included in their care plan.
1. Regular routine measures: It is very important to carry out regular routine measures in
older patients to slow down the effects of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular
diseases, diabetes, osteoarthritis and age related health conditions.
2. Effective medication: Care plan need to include effective medication in order to treat
blood sugar and cholesterol level in older patients. In addition to this, it also include
certain medication for improving the brain functioning in case of cognitive disorders.
3. Treating them patiently: Behaving in a cordial and amiable manner is also important for
treating elderly clients suffering from mental disorders such as Dementia, Alzheimer's ,
etc (Handler, 2009).
4. Nutritious diet and exercising is also included in the care plan.
CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, the present report provide essential learning on physiological aspects of
human body. It includes learning on various body functions and structures. In addition to this, it
also develop s understanding between body functions and physiology. Apart from this, it is also
important to understand the routine measures in the health and social care and the ways in which

they are collected are described briefly. Besides this, it also talk about the impact of aging on
bodily functions and structures and effective care plan in response to various chronic conditions.

REFERENCE
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