Every physiological story begins long before symptoms, organs, or systems. It begins at the level of principles: how cells maintain balance, how energy is generated and spent, and how the body measures, regulates, and defends its internal environment.

In this opening episode of the Medlock Holmes Physiology series, we lay the foundations of physiological reasoning. Medlock Holmes steps into the engine room of the human body—where gradients are built, membranes hold tension, and energy quietly powers every act of life.

This episode introduces the core concepts that underpin all later systems: homeostasis, feedback control, membrane potentials, diffusion and osmosis, pH and buffering, and cellular energy metabolism. Rather than memorising facts, we focus on how physiologists think—how complex behaviour emerges from simple rules applied consistently.

This is not an episode about organs.It is an episode about how life stays upright.

Key Takeaways

* Physiology is the study of regulated balance, not isolated reactions

* Homeostasis relies on feedback systems, not static set points

* Energy production underpins every cellular and systemic function

* Membrane gradients are stored information, not passive states

* pH, ions, and osmotic forces shape cellular behaviour long before disease appears

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