Human Physiology

16 lessons

Topic index in NCERT order

16 of 16 lessons by the NCERT chapter they teach from, in book order. The page is the first printed page of your NCERT book the lesson cites; PYQs are the past NEET questions on that topic.

Class 11 Biology, Chapter 14: Breathing and Exchange of Gases

  1. Breathing Respiratory Organsp. 1832 PYQs
  2. Breathing Mechanism Volumesp. 1863 PYQs
  3. Breathing Gas Transportp. 1895 PYQs

Class 11 Biology, Chapter 15: Body Fluids and Circulation

  1. Circulation Blood Lymphp. 1931 PYQ
  2. Circulation Blood Groups Coagulationp. 1953 PYQs
  3. Circulation Heart Cardiac Cyclep. 19910 PYQs
  4. Circulation BP Disordersp. 2020 PYQs

Class 11 Biology, Chapter 16: Excretory Products and their Elimination

  1. Excretion Kidney Nephronp. 2056 PYQs
  2. Excretion Urine Formationp. 2091 PYQ
  3. Excretion Regulation Disordersp. 2122 PYQs

Class 11 Biology, Chapter 17: Locomotion and Movement

  1. Locomotion Muscle Contractionp. 2184 PYQs
  2. Locomotion Skeleton Joints Disordersp. 22411 PYQs

Class 11 Biology, Chapter 18: Neural Control and Coordination

  1. Neural Human Nervous Systemp. 2314 PYQs
  2. Neural Neuron Impulse Synapsep. 2321 PYQ

Class 11 Biology, Chapter 19: Chemical Coordination and Integration

  1. Endocrine Hypothalamus Pituitary Thyroidp. 2396 PYQs
  2. Endocrine Adrenal Pancreas Gonadsp. 2446 PYQs
01

Breathing Gas Transport

8 MCQs5 PYQsWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Direct Application (3)Concept Trap (1)Calculation (1)
02

Breathing Mechanism Volumes

8 MCQs3 PYQs4 revision cardsWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Direct Application (3)Calculation (2)
03

Breathing Respiratory Organs

8 MCQs2 PYQsWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Direct Application (3)Concept Trap (2)
04

Circulation Blood Groups Coagulation

8 MCQs3 PYQsWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Direct Application (3)Concept Trap (1)Calculation (1)
05

Circulation Blood Lymph

8 MCQs1 PYQsWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Direct Application (3)Concept Trap (2)
06

Circulation BP Disorders

8 MCQs1 revision cardWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Concept Trap (2)Direct Application (3)
07

Circulation Heart Cardiac Cycle

8 MCQs10 PYQs1 revision cardWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Direct Application (3)Concept Trap (1)Calculation (1)
08

Endocrine Adrenal Pancreas Gonads

8 MCQs6 PYQsWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Direct Application (3)Calculation (1)Concept Trap (1)
09

Endocrine Hypothalamus Pituitary Thyroid

8 MCQs6 PYQsWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Direct Application (3)Calculation (1)Concept Trap (1)
10

Excretion Kidney Nephron

8 MCQs6 PYQsWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Direct Application (3)Concept Trap (1)Calculation (1)
11

Excretion Regulation Disorders

8 MCQs2 PYQsWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Direct Application (3)Concept Trap (1)Calculation (1)
12

Excretion Urine Formation

8 MCQs1 PYQsWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Direct Application (3)Concept Trap (1)Calculation (1)
13

Locomotion Muscle Contraction

8 MCQs4 PYQsWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Direct Application (3)Calculation (1)Concept Trap (1)
14

Locomotion Skeleton Joints Disorders

8 MCQs11 PYQsWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Direct Application (3)Calculation (1)Concept Trap (1)
15

Neural Human Nervous System

8 MCQs4 PYQsWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Direct Application (3)Calculation (1)Concept Trap (1)
16

Neural Neuron Impulse Synapse

8 MCQs1 PYQsWorked example
Easy Recall (3)Direct Application (3)Calculation (1)Concept Trap (1)

NCERT lines NEET tested in this unit

Each line with its printed NCERT page and the past NEET questions that tested it.

Past-paper questions from this unit

71 questions from NEET 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026. Answers verified against NTA official keys.

By year in our set: 2020 (3) · 2021 (9) · 2022 (12) · 2023 (17) · 2024 (12) · 2025 (5) · 2026 (13)

Lesson: Locomotion Skeleton Joints Disorders

Lesson: Circulation Blood Groups Coagulation

Lesson: Endocrine Adrenal Pancreas Gonads

Lesson: Circulation Heart Cardiac Cycle

Lesson: Breathing Respiratory Organs

Lesson: Locomotion Muscle Contraction

Lesson: Locomotion Skeleton Joints Disorders

Lesson: Endocrine Hypothalamus Pituitary Thyroid

Lesson: Endocrine Adrenal Pancreas Gonads

Lesson: Locomotion Muscle Contraction

NEET 2024Revised key

Three types of muscles are given as a, b and c. Identify the correct matching pair along with their location in human body: Name of muscle/location

1(a) Smooth - Toes (b) Skeletal – Legs (c) Cardiac – Heart
2(a) Skeletal - Triceps (b) Smooth – Stomach (c) Cardiac – Heart
3(a) Skeletal - Biceps (b) Involuntary – Intestine (c) Smooth – Heart
4(a) Involuntary – Nose tip (b) Skeletal – Bone (c) Cardiac – Heart
NTA Answer: Option 2(revised_final)

Report an error · Every fix is public: corrections log

Lesson: Breathing Gas Transport

Lesson: Excretion Kidney Nephron

Lesson: Neural Human Nervous System

NEET 2024Revised key

Given below are two statements: Statement I: The cerebral hemispheres are connected by nerve tract known as corpus callosum. Statement II: The brain stem consists of the medulla oblongata, pons and cerebrum. In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:

1Both Statement I and Statement II are correct.
2Both Statement I and Statement II are incorrect.
3Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect.
4Statement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct.
NTA Answer: Option 3(revised_final)

Report an error · Every fix is public: corrections log

Lesson: Breathing Gas Transport

NEET 2023

Which one of the following statements is NOT correct?

1Algal blooms caused by excess of organic matter in water improve water quality and promote fisheries
2Water hyacinth grows abundantly in eutrophic water bodies and leads to an imbalance in the ecosystem dynamics of the water body
3The amount of some toxic substances of industrial waste water increases in the organisms at successive trophic levels
4The micro-organisms involved in biodegradation of organic matter in a sewage polluted water body consume a lot of oxygen causing the death of aquatic organisms
NTA Answer: Option 1(final)

Report an error · Every fix is public: corrections log

Lesson: Circulation Heart Cardiac Cycle

Lesson: Breathing Mechanism Volumes

Lesson: Neural Human Nervous System

Lesson: Breathing Mechanism Volumes

Lesson: Circulation Blood Groups Coagulation

NEET 2022

Given below are two statements : Statement I : The coagulum is formed of network of threads called thrombins. Statement II : Spleen is the graveyard of erythrocytes. In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below :

1Statement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct
2Both Statement I and Statement II are correct
3Both Statement I and Statement II are incorrect
4Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect
NTA Answer: Option 1(final)

Report an error · Every fix is public: corrections log

Lesson: Breathing Respiratory Organs

Lesson: Locomotion Skeleton Joints Disorders

Lesson: Circulation Heart Cardiac Cycle

Lesson: Neural Neuron Impulse Synapse

Lesson: Breathing Gas Transport

Lesson: Locomotion Muscle Contraction

Lesson: Circulation Blood Groups Coagulation

Lesson: Breathing Gas Transport

Exam traps and common mistakes in this unit

Lesson: Breathing Gas Transport

Trap

Oxyhaemoglobin curve shift direction

Category: Graph Interpretation

Right shift (lower affinity, more O2 release) caused by ↑CO2, ↑H+, ↑temperature, ↑2,3-BPG (Bohr effect). Left = opposite.

When it triggers

Question on tissue-vs-lung haemoglobin behaviour, exercise effect.

How to avoid

In tissues (high CO2/low pH/high T) → right shift → release O2. In lungs → left → bind O2.

Lesson: Breathing Mechanism Volumes

Trap

Lung capacity includes which volumes

Category: Similar Terms

Capacities are SUMS of volumes. VC = TV+IRV+ERV (excludes RV); TLC = VC+RV.

When it triggers

Question asks which capacity equals sum of which volumes.

How to avoid

VC excludes RV (residual is unmeasurable directly); TLC includes everything.

Lesson: Circulation Blood Groups Coagulation

Trap

Universal donor vs universal recipient swap

Category: Similar Terms

Students swap which blood group is the universal donor (O) and which is the universal recipient (AB).

When it triggers

A question asks 'blood group O individuals are called ___' with 'universal recipients' as a distractor.

How to avoid

Group O has no A/B antigens on RBCs so it can be donated to any group (universal donor); group AB has no antibodies in plasma so it can accept from any group (universal recipient) (C11_BIO_18_FACT_11).

Lesson: Circulation Blood Groups Coagulation

Trap

Coagulation cascade step order

Category: Similar Terms

Students reverse the order fibrinogen/prothrombin/thrombin/fibrin act in the clotting cascade, or forget thrombokinase is the enzyme complex, not thrombin itself.

When it triggers

A question asks 'thrombin converts ___ to ___' and offers 'prothrombin to fibrinogen' as a scrambled distractor.

How to avoid

Prothrombin is converted (via thrombokinase) to thrombin, and thrombin then converts inactive fibrinogen to fibrin threads that form the clot (C11_BIO_18_FACT_14).

Lesson: Endocrine Adrenal Pancreas Gonads

Trap

Hyperglycemic vs hypoglycemic hormone swap

Category: Similar Terms

Students swap which pancreatic hormone raises and which lowers blood glucose, since both come from the Islets of Langerhans.

When it triggers

A question asks 'which hormone raises blood glucose' and offers insulin as a trap option alongside glucagon.

How to avoid

Glucagon (alpha-cells) is the hyperglycemic hormone, stimulating glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis; insulin (beta-cells) is the hypoglycemic hormone, enhancing cellular glucose uptake and glycogenesis (C11_BIO_22_FACT_10, C11_BIO_22_FACT_11).

Lesson: Endocrine Adrenal Pancreas Gonads

Trap

Cortisol vs aldosterone target confusion

Category: Similar Terms

Students mix up which adrenal cortex hormone regulates carbohydrate metabolism versus water/electrolyte balance.

When it triggers

A question asks which hormone is 'the main mineralocorticoid' and lists cortisol as a distractor.

How to avoid

Cortisol is the main glucocorticoid (carbohydrate metabolism, anti-inflammatory, RBC production); aldosterone is the main mineralocorticoid (Na+/water reabsorption, K+/phosphate excretion) (C11_BIO_22_FACT_09).

Lesson: Endocrine Hypothalamus Pituitary Thyroid

Trap

GH deficiency vs TSH deficiency dwarfism

Category: Similar Terms

Students confuse pituitary dwarfism (low GH from the anterior pituitary) with cretinism (hypothyroidism in a developing child) since both involve stunted growth.

When it triggers

A question describes 'stunted growth in a child' and offers both 'pituitary dwarfism' and 'cretinism' as options without stating which gland failed.

How to avoid

Low GH secretion causes pituitary dwarfism (C11_BIO_22_FACT_03); hypothyroidism during pregnancy/childhood causing stunted growth is specifically named cretinism, with added mental retardation and deaf-mutism (C11_BIO_22_FACT_05).

Lesson: Endocrine Hypothalamus Pituitary Thyroid

Trap

Simple goitre vs exophthalmic goitre

Category: Similar Terms

Students treat 'goitre' as one condition, missing that simple goitre (from iodine deficiency, hypothyroidism) and exophthalmic goitre (Graves' disease, hyperthyroidism) are opposite thyroid states.

When it triggers

A question lists eyeball protrusion and weight loss and asks which thyroid condition it is, with 'goitre' as a distractor answer.

How to avoid

Iodine-deficiency goitre is linked to hypothyroidism (C11_BIO_22_FACT_05); exopthalmic goitre is a form of hyperthyroidism with enlarged thyroid, eyeball protrusion, raised basal metabolic rate and weight loss, also called Graves' disease (C11_BIO_22_FACT_06).

Lesson: Locomotion Muscle Contraction

Trap

A-band vs I-band shortening

Category: Similar Terms

Students confuse which band shortens during muscle contraction.

When it triggers

A NEET question shows a sarcomere before/after contraction and asks which band shortens, expecting students to wrongly say the A-band shortens.

How to avoid

During contraction the I-bands get reduced while the A-bands retain their length (C11_BIO_20_FACT_06); the sarcomere itself shortens because thin filaments slide over thick ones (C11_BIO_20_DEF_04).

Lesson: Locomotion Muscle Contraction

Trap

Red vs white fibre metabolism

Category: Similar Terms

Students swap which fibre type is aerobic and which is anaerobic.

When it triggers

A question describes a muscle rich in mitochondria and myoglobin and asks whether it is a red or white fibre, or asks which fibre type depends on anaerobic metabolism.

How to avoid

Red fibres are high in myoglobin, contain plenty of mitochondria and are aerobic; white fibres have little myoglobin, few mitochondria, more sarcoplasmic reticulum, and depend on anaerobic processes (C11_BIO_20_FACT_07).

Lesson: Locomotion Skeleton Joints Disorders

Trap

True, vertebrochondral and floating ribs

Category: Similar Terms

Students confuse the count and ventral attachment of true, false (vertebrochondral) and floating ribs.

When it triggers

A question asks how many pairs of ribs are floating or lists rib numbers and asks which category the 9th or 12th pair belongs to.

How to avoid

The first 7 pairs are true ribs (attach directly to the sternum via hyaline cartilage), the 8th-10th pairs are vertebrochondral (false) ribs joining the 7th rib, and the 11th-12th pairs are floating ribs with no ventral connection (C11_BIO_20_FACT_09).

Lesson: Locomotion Skeleton Joints Disorders

Trap

Assuming every joint allows movement

Category: Overthinking

Students overthink and assume all joint types permit some degree of movement.

When it triggers

A question about skull sutures asks how much movement they permit, tempting students to assume all joints, including fibrous ones, allow at least limited movement.

How to avoid

Fibrous joints, such as the sutures fusing the flat skull bones, do not allow any movement at all; only cartilaginous (limited) and synovial (considerable) joints permit movement (C11_BIO_20_DEF_11).

Lesson: Neural Human Nervous System

Trap

Afferent vs efferent direction

Category: Similar Terms

Students swap the direction of afferent and efferent nerve fibres.

When it triggers

A question asks which fibre type carries impulses from a sense organ to the CNS versus from the CNS to a muscle.

How to avoid

Afferent fibres transmit impulses from tissues/organs to the CNS, and efferent fibres transmit regulatory impulses from the CNS to peripheral tissues/organs (C11_BIO_21_FACT_08).

Lesson: Neural Human Nervous System

Trap

Medulla vs cerebellum function

Category: Similar Terms

Students confuse which hindbrain part controls respiration and cardiovascular reflexes.

When it triggers

A question asks which part of the brain controls respiration and cardiovascular reflexes, tempting a wrong answer of cerebellum instead of medulla.

How to avoid

The medulla contains centres controlling respiration, cardiovascular reflexes and gastric secretions; the cerebellum's convoluted surface instead provides extra space for neurons, and coordinates other functions (C11_BIO_21_FACT_12).

Lesson: Neural Neuron Impulse Synapse

Trap

Resting membrane ion permeability

Category: Similar Terms

Students swap which ion the resting axonal membrane is more permeable to.

When it triggers

A question asks which ion the resting axonal membrane is more permeable to, tempting students to answer Na+ instead of K+.

How to avoid

At rest, the axonal membrane is comparatively more permeable to K+ and nearly impermeable to Na+, giving high intracellular K+ and low intracellular Na+ (C11_BIO_21_FACT_03).

Lesson: Neural Neuron Impulse Synapse

Trap

Chemical synapses assumed faster

Category: Overthinking

Students overthink synaptic transmission and assume chemical synapses, being more common, are also faster than electrical ones.

When it triggers

A question asks which type of synapse transmits an impulse faster, electrical or chemical.

How to avoid

Impulse transmission across an electrical synapse is always faster than across a chemical synapse, even though electrical synapses are rare in our system (C11_BIO_21_DEF_06).

Lesson: Breathing Mechanism Volumes

Lesson: Circulation Blood Groups Coagulation

Mistake

Students think the first Rh+ve pregnancy of an Rh-ve mother is at risk of erythroblastosis foetalis, missing that the placenta separates the bloods during the first pregnancy.

Root cause: concept gap

Correction

Rh antigens of the foetus do not get exposed to the mother's Rh-ve blood in the first pregnancy because the two bloods are separated by the placenta; exposure typically occurs during delivery, so risk arises in subsequent pregnancies unless anti-Rh antibodies are given after the first delivery (C11_BIO_18_FACT_12, C11_BIO_18_FACT_13).

Wrong option pattern

States the first pregnancy itself is destroyed by Rh incompatibility

Lesson: Circulation Blood Groups Coagulation

Mistake

Students confuse thrombokinase (the enzyme complex activating the cascade) with thrombin (which converts fibrinogen to fibrin), or forget calcium's role.

Root cause: term confusion

Correction

Thrombokinase is the enzyme complex required to convert prothrombin to thrombin; thrombin then converts inactive fibrinogen to fibrin threads; calcium ions play a very important role in clotting (C11_BIO_18_FACT_14).

Wrong option pattern

Names thrombin as the step-activating enzyme complex instead of thrombokinase

Lesson: Circulation Heart Cardiac Cycle

Lesson: Endocrine Adrenal Pancreas Gonads

Lesson: Endocrine Adrenal Pancreas Gonads

Mistake

Students mix up which organ secretes ANF (decreases blood pressure) and which secretes erythropoietin (stimulates RBC formation), or assign both to the same organ.

Root cause: term confusion

Correction

The atrial wall of the heart secretes ANF, which dilates blood vessels and decreases blood pressure; the juxtaglomerular cells of the kidney secrete erythropoietin, which stimulates erythropoiesis (C11_BIO_22_FACT_13).

Wrong option pattern

Swaps the heart and kidney as the source of ANF versus erythropoietin

Lesson: Endocrine Hypothalamus Pituitary Thyroid

Mistake

Students assign an anterior pituitary hormone (e.g., ACTH) to the posterior pituitary, or vice versa with oxytocin/vasopressin.

Root cause: term confusion

Correction

Anterior pituitary (pars distalis) produces GH, PRL, TSH, ACTH, LH and FSH; pars intermedia secretes MSH. Posterior pituitary (neurohypophysis) only stores and releases oxytocin and vasopressin, which are synthesised by the hypothalamus (C11_BIO_22_FACT_03).

Wrong option pattern

Swaps an anterior-pituitary hormone into a posterior-pituitary option or vice versa

Lesson: Endocrine Hypothalamus Pituitary Thyroid

Mistake

Students assume PTH lowers blood calcium (like TCT), or forget which hormone acts on bone resorption versus which lowers calcium.

Root cause: direction ignored

Correction

PTH is a hypercalcemic hormone: it raises blood Ca2+ by stimulating bone resorption, renal tubular reabsorption of Ca2+, and intestinal Ca2+ absorption; thyrocalcitonin (TCT) from the thyroid works with PTH in calcium balance (C11_BIO_22_FACT_07).

Wrong option pattern

States PTH decreases blood calcium or confuses its source gland

Lesson: Excretion Urine Formation

Lesson: Locomotion Muscle Contraction

Lesson: Locomotion Muscle Contraction

Lesson: Locomotion Skeleton Joints Disorders

Lesson: Locomotion Skeleton Joints Disorders

Lesson: Neural Human Nervous System

Mistake

Students confuse the somatic and autonomic divisions of the PNS, e.g., saying the autonomic system controls skeletal muscle.

Root cause: concept gap

Correction

The somatic neural system relays CNS impulses to skeletal muscles, while the autonomic neural system transmits impulses to involuntary organs and smooth muscles, and is split into sympathetic and parasympathetic systems (C11_BIO_21_FACT_08).

Wrong option pattern

Assigns skeletal muscle control to the autonomic system or involuntary organ control to the somatic system

Lesson: Neural Human Nervous System

Mistake

Students place pons or medulla in the midbrain instead of the hindbrain, or vice versa with corpora quadrigemina.

Root cause: term confusion

Correction

The midbrain lies between the forebrain and the pons, containing the cerebral aqueduct and corpora quadrigemina; pons, cerebellum and medulla oblongata together make up the hindbrain, and midbrain+pons+medulla form the brain stem (C11_BIO_21_FACT_11, C11_BIO_21_FACT_12).

Wrong option pattern

Places pons/medulla inside the midbrain, or corpora quadrigemina inside the hindbrain

Lesson: Neural Neuron Impulse Synapse

Lesson: Neural Neuron Impulse Synapse

Mistake

Students mix up which neuron type (multipolar, bipolar, unipolar) has which axon/dendrite count and location.

Root cause: term confusion

Correction

Multipolar neurons have one axon and two or more dendrites (cerebral cortex); bipolar neurons have one axon and one dendrite (retina); unipolar neurons have a cell body with one axon only, usually in the embryonic stage (C11_BIO_21_FACT_01).

Wrong option pattern

Swaps the dendrite/axon count or tissue location among multipolar, bipolar and unipolar neurons

Formulas in this unit

Lesson: Breathing Mechanism Volumes

Respiratory volumes and capacities

Defines lung volumes and their sums (capacities). TV ~500 mL, IRV ~3000 mL, ERV ~1100 mL, RV ~1200 mL.

SymbolQuantitySI Unit
TVtidalmL
IRVinspiratory reservemL
ERVexpiratory reservemL
RVresidualmL

Valid when

  • Normal adult resting
  • Spirometry-measured (RV indirect)

Lesson: Circulation Heart Cardiac Cycle

Cardiac output

Volume of blood pumped per minute = heart rate × stroke volume. Normal ~5 L/min at rest.

SymbolQuantitySI Unit
COcardiac outputL/min
HRheart rate/min
SVstroke volumemL

Valid when

  • At rest

NEET question patterns in this unit

Unit-wide

Questions about this unit

What does Human Physiology cover for NEET Biology?
16 lessons: Breathing Gas Transport, Breathing Mechanism Volumes, Breathing Respiratory Organs, Circulation Blood Groups Coagulation, Circulation Blood Lymph, Circulation BP Disorders, Circulation Heart Cardiac Cycle, Endocrine Adrenal Pancreas Gonads, Endocrine Hypothalamus Pituitary Thyroid, Excretion Kidney Nephron, Excretion Regulation Disorders, Excretion Urine Formation, Locomotion Muscle Contraction, Locomotion Skeleton Joints Disorders, Neural Human Nervous System and Neural Neuron Impulse Synapse.
How often has Human Physiology come up in NEET past papers?
Our set of verified past papers has 71 questions from this unit, from NEET 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. Each is answered against the official NTA key.
Is the Human Physiology material free?
Yes. All 16 lessons and 128 practice questions are free, with no login needed.