Textbook of Practical Physiology has been greatly appreciated by students, residents, members of faculty, laboratory technical officers, and practicing physicians in India and abroad for about two and a half decades. The popularity of this book can be attributed to the fact that it fulfils all the requirements of students and teachers—imparting detailed knowledge of techniques, helping to develop practical skills, and guiding their application in physiology and medicine.
With the introduction of the revised NMC CBME – 2024 curriculum, there is a clear shift towards an evidence-based, objective-oriented, clinically-focussed, and skill-based, integrated curriculum. Particularly notable are the new directives for ‘Early Clinical Exposure (ECE)’—starting from the first year and allowing students to learn through real patient interactions and continuous assessments that use logbooks, OSPE (Objective Structured Practical Examination)/OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination), and structured practical training and evaluation conducted throughout the year at regular intervals instead of a single final practical exam. Textbook of Practical Physiology was the first book on the subject to introduce learning objectives, objectivised structured methodology, and organised assessments. The inclusion of OSPE as part of practical assessment was first introduced in this textbook in its inaugural edition in 2001.
Various sections of this sixth edition of Textbook of Practical Physiology—including those on hematology, human experiments, and clinical physiology—have been thoroughly revised as per the revised NMC CBME – 2024. The edition has also been fortified with new chapters on assessment of body composition, basal metabolism and obesity, energy cost of work, bicycle ergometry, demonstration of arterial pulse tracing, carotid sinus reflex, venous blood flow, venous pressure, and triple response, demonstration of H reflex, demonstration of physiologic blind spots, stereoscopic vision, dominance of the eye, subjective visual sensation, mechanical stimulation of the eye, demonstration of near point, near response and range of accommodation, demonstration of Purkinje–Sanson images, ultrasonography as a pregnancy diagnostic test, and demonstration of masking of sound and localisation of sound. A major highlight of this edition is the enhanced VIVA section in each practical chapter, where answers to all questions are now provided with precise references to the corresponding page, paragraph, heading, subheading, figure, and table. The number of viva questions and answers has nearly doubled in every chapter. Another special feature of this edition is the incorporation of a new section—Section V: Graphs, Charts, Calculation and Problem-Solving Questions—which includes three new chapters to further facilitate the understanding of intricate but important concepts, clinical applications, problem-based learning, and analytical interpretation of various physiological measurements (calculations). Several new flowcharts, figures, and tables have been added to simplify the perception of applied and clinical concepts.
This book is specially designed for step-by-step learning through practicals and experiments, which are vital to medical students seeking to develop expertise in clinical medicine. Many illustrations have been meticulously revised, redrawn, and re-represented to facilitate the assimilation of various techniques.
The sixth edition of the Textbook of Practical Physiology is a comprehensive practical textbook on the subject for undergraduate and postgraduate students of physiology and medicine.
Editors:
G K Pal MBBS, MD (Physiology), PhD, DSc, D.Sc. (Hon.causa) BNYT (Naturopathy and Yoga Therapy), MD (Alt. Medicine), MD (Yoga), MABMS, FRSB (London), FABMS, FABAP, FSAB, FIABS, FEFI, FAPI Professor (Senior Scale), Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry Former Ex Director, AIIMS, Patna; Former Dean, JIPMER (Karaikal), Puducherry Former Registrar (Academic), JIPMER, Puducherry Former Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Pondicherry University, Puducherry Honorary Professor, Sri Aurobindo International Center of Education, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry Executive Editor, International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Physiology General Secretary, Association of Physiologists of India (ASSOPI) President, Federation of Indian Physiological Societies (FIPS) Architect of DM Course in Clinical and Interventional Physiology in India (established it at AIIMS, Patna)
Pravati Pal MBBS, MD (Physiology), BNYT, MD (Alt. Medicine), MABMS Professor (Senior Scale), Department of Physiology Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puduchery
Section I Hematology 1. Introduction to Hematology 2. Collection of Blood Samples 3. Estimation of Hemoglobin Concentration 4. Determination of Hematocrit 5. Study of the Compound Microscope 6. Hemocytometry 7. Total RBC Count 8. Determination of Red Blood Cell Indices 9. Total Leucocyte Count 10. Preparation and Examination of Blood Smears 11. Differential Leucocyte Count 12. Arneth (Cooke-Arneth) Count 13. Absolute Eosinophil Count 14. Determination of Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate 15. Determination of Blood Group 16. Osmotic Fragility of Red Cells 17. Determination of Bleeding Time and Coagulation Time 18. Platelet Count 19. Reticulocyte Count 20. Determination of Specific Gravity of Blood Section II Human Experiments Respiratory System 21. Stethography: Recording of Chest Movements 22. Vitalography and Effect of Posture on Vital Capacity 23. Pulmonary Function Tests and Spirometry 24. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation 25. Body Composition Analysis, Assessment of BMR, and Energy Cost of Work Cardiovascular System 26. Electrocardiography 27. Examination of the Radial Pulse, Demonstration of Pulse Tracing, and Other Vascular Phenomena 28. Measurement of Blood Pressure 29. Effect of Posture on Blood Pressure and Heart Rate 30. Effect of Exercise on Blood Pressure and Heart Rate 31. Cardiac Efficiency Tests (Exercise Stress Testing): Treadmill and Master’s Step Test Nerve and Muscle 32. Nerve Conduction Study and Demonstration of H reflex 33. Electromyography 34. Mosso’s Ergography, Study of Fatigue, and Use of Handgrip Dynamometer Nervous System 35. Visual and Auditory Reaction Times 36. Electroencephalogram Autonomic Nervous System 37. Autonomic Function Tests 38. Spectral Analysis of Heart Rate Variability 39. Blood Pressure Variability and Baroreflex Sensitivity Evoked Potentials 40. Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential 41. Visual Evoked Potential 42. Somatosensory Evoked Potential 43. Motor Evoked Potential Special Senses 44. Perimetry and Demonstration of Blind Spot and Other Visual Phenomena 45. Visual Acuity (Tests for Distant Vision and Near Vision) and Other Related Phenomena 46. Colour Vision 47. Hearing Tests including Audiometry, Localisation and Masking of Sounds 48. Examination of Taste and Smell Reproductive System 49. Semen Analysis 50. Pregnancy Diagnostic Tests 51. Birth Control Methods Section III Clinical Examination 52. History Taking and General Examination 53. Clinical Examination of the Respiratory System 54. Clinical Examination of the Cardiovascular System 55. Clinical Examination of the Gastrointestinal System 56. Clinical Examination of the Nervous System I (Higher Functions and Cranial Nerves) 57. Clinical Examination of the Nervous System II (Sensory System) 58. Clinical Examination of the Nervous System III (Motor System including Reflexes) Section IV Animal Experiments Experiments on Frog’s Nerve and Muscle 59. Introduction to Animal Experiments and Appliances 60. Nerve-Muscle Preparation 61. Simple Muscle Twitch 62. Effect of Temperature on Simple Muscle Twitch 63. Effect of Increasing Strength of Stimuli on Muscle Contraction 64. Effect of Two Successive Stimuli on Muscle Contraction 65. Genesis of Tetanus 66. Genesis of Fatigue 67. Conduction Velocity of Nerves in Frogs Experiments on Frog’s Heart 68. Normal Cardiogram of Frog 69. Effect of Temperature on Frog’s Heart 70. Effect of Stannius Ligatures on Frog’s Heart 466 71. Properties of the Cardiac Muscle 72. Effect of Stimulation of Vagosympathetic Trunk on Frog’s Heart 73. Perfusion of Frog’s Heart and Effect of Drugs and Ions Mammalian Experiments 74. Effect of Drugs and Ions on Isolated Mammalian Intestine 75. Effect of Drugs on Mammalian Uterine Contraction 76. Estrus Cycle in Rat Section V: Graphs and Charts, Calculations and Problem-Solving Questions 77. Charts, Graphs, Spotters and Derived Questions 78. Questions on Calculations 79. Problem-Solving Questions 80. Normal Values Bibliography Index