State function question as it applies to Biology/Physiology

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the concept of state functions in the context of a new course in Nurse Anesthesia, specifically questioning whether blood pressure and body temperature qualify as state functions. Participants agree that a state function is defined by its dependence on the current state of a system rather than its history. However, they highlight that blood pressure and body temperature are influenced by various real-time factors, complicating their classification as state functions. For instance, localized temperature changes due to swelling differ from overall body temperature, and variations in blood pressure can arise from different physiological conditions, such as ventricular tachycardia versus normal sinus rhythm. The conversation emphasizes the need for further research to clarify these concepts.
taimcampos92
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Hi everyone! Hope you all are doing great. I'm currently starting a new course mixed with Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physics-related to Nurse anesthesia. While reading about State function a question arrived on my team. We all agreed that a State Function "is a property or characteristic of a system that depends only on its current state and not on how it reached that state"; however, can a person's Blood pressure or body temperature can be considered state functions?
 
Biology news on Phys.org
Welcome to PF. :smile:

Can you give a reference to your source of information on State Functions? Is it referring to biological and physiological systems mainly, or is it a general systems reference?

The issue with BP and body temperature is that they are affected by many things in real time. And it seems like elevated local temperature due to local swelling is different from uniform body temperature. Similarly, low BP due to being in V-tach is different from low BP with a NSR...
 
  • Like
Likes Laroxe and taimcampos92
berkeman said:
Welcome to PF. :smile:

Can you give a reference to your source of information on State Functions? Is it referring to biological and physiological systems mainly, or is it a general systems reference?

The issue with BP and body temperature is that they are affected by many things in real time. And it seems like elevated local temperature due to local swelling is different from uniform body temperature. Similarly, low BP due to being in V-tach is different from low BP with a NSR...
I see, thanks for the quick reply,

Still becomes somehow confusing to me to actually understand and fully recognize it. I'll do a little more research, thank you
 
Deadly cattle screwworm parasite found in US patient. What to know. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2025/08/25/new-world-screwworm-human-case/85813010007/ Exclusive: U.S. confirms nation's first travel-associated human screwworm case connected to Central American outbreak https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-confirms-nations-first-travel-associated-human-screwworm-case-connected-2025-08-25/...
Chagas disease, long considered only a threat abroad, is established in California and the Southern U.S. According to articles in the Los Angeles Times, "Chagas disease, long considered only a threat abroad, is established in California and the Southern U.S.", and "Kissing bugs bring deadly disease to California". LA Times requires a subscription. Related article -...
I am reading Nicholas Wade's book A Troublesome Inheritance. Please let's not make this thread a critique about the merits or demerits of the book. This thread is my attempt to understanding the evidence that Natural Selection in the human genome was recent and regional. On Page 103 of A Troublesome Inheritance, Wade writes the following: "The regional nature of selection was first made evident in a genomewide scan undertaken by Jonathan Pritchard, a population geneticist at the...
Back
Top