About This Lesson
This work introduces a graphic causality system for gastrointestinal (GI) physiology, designed to address the limitations of traditional teaching tools by standardizing the visualization of regulatory mechanisms. Current methods often rely on fragmented diagrams and linear cascades, which obscure the dynamic, circular nature of physiological feedback. In contrast, this framework employs bidirectional radial axes and directional vectors to model interactions between parameters (e.g., hormones, pH, motility), enabling intuitive pattern recognition of homeostasis and its disruptions.
Key features include:
- Modular design, allowing scalable complexity—from basic two-axis loops (e.g., gastrin-HCl feedback) to multi-loop integration (e.g., gastric acid- gastric emptying regulations).
- Clinical anchors that directly link vector configurations to high-yield pathologies (e.g., Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, H. pylori ulcers).
- Consistent visual grammar, reducing cognitive load while reinforcing cross-system principles.
Designed as a complement to textbooks, this system empowers learners to transition from memorization to mechanistic reasoning, with applications ranging from preclinical instruction to clinical problem-solving.
Note:
This work is part of the Core Models in Physiology system, which has been downloaded over 6,300 times (and counting) by educators and students worldwide.
The System's Foundation:
· Built exclusively on established medical literature.
· Designed as a complementary visual framework to traditional textbooks.
Its Unique Power:
· Provides a unified graphical language for causality and feedback.
· Scalable and consistent across all physiological systems.
· Proves its universal power by modeling diverse adaptive systems (from physiology to ecology) with the same core rules.
