Advances in Physiology Education, Vol 271, Issue 6 2-S9, Copyright © 1996 by American Physiological Society
Introduction to medical physiology: cellular membranes and transmembrane transport of solutes and water
D. J. Benos
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Alabama at Birmingham 35294, USA. benos@phybio.bhs.uab.edu
This article summarizes the comments made in the introductory session of
the Medical Physiology course taught at the University of Alabama School of
Medicine. The main thesis is that learning physiology is easier when
fundamental principles are first delineated. Four general principles of
physiology (mass balance, force-flow, capacitance, and equilibrium) are
discussed. Clinical medicine becomes more comprehensible when these basic
principles are understood. Cellular Physiology is taught first because it
forms the conceptual basis for what follows in the course. The idea that
the root of clinical medicine lies in the basic sciences is emphasized.
