Human Physiology Under Pressure
Uncover how the human body coordinates vital systems in real time when demands spike. Explore the mechanisms of blood flow regulation, gas exchange, fluid balance, and stress responses that keep you alive under load.
Like Duolingo, but for Human Physiology Under Pressure. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Mastering Hemodynamics and Respiration and Defending Volume and Orchestrating Stress. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Human Physiology Under Pressure
- Mean arterial pressure equals cardiac output multiplied by systemic vascular resistance
- When cardiac output drops, increasing systemic vascular resistance keeps arterial pressure stable
- Sympathetic signaling constricts muscular arterioles to drive systemic vascular resistance upward
- Baroreceptors in the carotid sinus and aortic arch detect mechanical stretch of the vessel wall
- Higher stretch increases the baseline firing rate of glossopharyngeal and vagus afferents to the medulla
- Brainstem cardiovascular centers respond to increased baroreceptor firing by curbing sympathetic outflow
- Arteriolar smooth muscle dilates locally in response to tissue metabolites like adenosine and CO2
- Sympathetic alpha-1 activation selectively constricts renal and splanchnic arterioles during exertion
- Shunting blood away from quiescent viscera preserves perfusion to exercising skeletal muscle
- Calf muscle contraction compresses deep lower-limb veins, forcing pooled blood upward
- One-way venous valves distal to the contraction close to prevent backward flow toward the foot
- Proximal valves are pushed open by high pressure, directing venous return into the inferior vena cava
- Standing causes gravitational pooling in dependent veins, reducing ventricular preload and pressure
- Reduced arterial wall stretch lowers baroreceptor firing, disinhibiting central sympathetic outflow
- Sympathetic activation raises heart rate and contracts peripheral arterioles to restore cranial pressure
- Perfusion without ventilation causes a physiological shunt of unoxygenated blood.
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Human Physiology Under Pressure the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What two things multiply together to make your mean arterial pressure?
Get it right to open this lesson and 10 more in the app.
How to learn Human Physiology Under Pressure, step by step
Go in order. 11 short levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Mastering Hemodynamics and Respiration
- Regulating Arterial Pressure on the Fly
- Matching Ventilation to Perfusion
- 2
Defending Volume and Orchestrating Stress
- Balancing Capillary Fluids and Renal Filtration
- Orchestrating the Autonomic Stress Response
2 sections · 4 units · 11 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Human Physiology Under Pressure
How do I learn Human Physiology Under Pressure?
Go in order: start with Mastering Hemodynamics and Respiration, then Defending Volume and Orchestrating Stress. On Tomo that's 11 short levels, about 22 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Human Physiology Under Pressure?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Human Physiology Under Pressure is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Human Physiology Under Pressure course free?
Yes. Human Physiology Under Pressure is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Human Physiology Under Pressure?
11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Human Physiology Under Pressure?
No. It's pitched at an intermediate level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Human Physiology Under Pressure is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Human Physiology Under Pressure today.
Download Tomo, search Human Physiology Under Pressure, and play your first lesson in under a minute.