NURS 1002H Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Stimulant, Skeletal Muscle, Middle Ear
1 Feb 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
In general, the physiologic changes that occur with aging can be captured within the paradigm, loss of physiologic or homeostatic reserve. As a result, older patients are more vulnerable to environmental stresses or illness than their younger counterparts. Although individuals age at different rates, vary in their decline from one organ to the next, and can benefit from participating in health-promoting strategies, many of the changes that occur with aging tend to be progressive. Alcohol, smoking, diet, exercise, environmental/ work place contaminants contribution to free radicals & aging. The number of cells in the spinal cord decreases with age, but does not appear to affect the functional capacity of the spinal cord. Decreases in nerve conduction are mostly due to changes in the peripheral nerves. A decrease in muscle strength is likely due to a loss of muscle fibers (sarcopenia) rather than denervation.
