Chapter 01 Major Themes of Anatomy and Physiology

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts introduced in Chapter 01, including fundamentals of anatomy and physiology, history, methods, terminology, and basic physiology principles.

Anatomy

The study of the structure of the body and the relationships between its parts.

Physiology

The study of how living organisms function.

Form and Function

The concept that body structure (form) and its function are interconnected and complementary.

Gross Anatomy

Study of body structures that can be seen with the naked eye.

Microscopic Anatomy (Histology)

Examination of cells and tissues under a microscope.

Histopathology

Microscopic examination of tissues for signs of disease.

Cytology

Study of the internal structure and function of individual cells.

Ultrastructure

Molecular details seen with electron microscopy.

Cadaver Dissection

Cutting and separating tissues to reveal their relationships.

Comparative Anatomy

Study of structural similarities and differences across species to analyze evolutionary trends.

Exploratory Surgery

Opening the body to look inside and assess structure.

Medical Imaging

Viewing the inside of the body without surgery.

Radiology

Branch of medicine concerned with imaging of the body.

Histology

Microscopic study of tissues and cells.

Neurophysiology

Physiology of the nervous system.

Endocrinology

Physiology of hormones and hormone systems.

Pathophysiology

Mechanisms by which disease alters normal physiologic processes.

Evolution

Change in the genetic composition of a population over time.

Theory of Natural Selection

How species originate and change through time. Changed prevailing view of our origin, nature, and our place in the universe. It increased understanding of human form and function.

Inspection

Looking at a body’s appearance, as in performing a physical examination or making a clinical diagnosis from surface appearance.

Palpation

Feeling a structure with the hands.

Ausculatation

Listening to the natural sounds made by the body, such as heart and lung sounds.

Percussion

The examiner taps on the body, feels for abnormal resistance, and listens to the emitted sound for signs of abnormalities such as pockets of fluid, air, or scar tissue.

Cell Theory

The principle that all organisms are made of cells and that cells are the basic units of life. Cells are produced by the divisions of pre-existing cells and they are the smallest structural units that perform all vital functions.

Hippocrates

Father of Medicine; promoted natural causes of disease and ethics (Hippocratic Oath).

Aristotle

Philosopher who linked disease to causes and contributed early ideas on physiology. Called supernatural causes of disease theologi and natural causes for disease physiologi.

Claudius Galen

Physician to Roman gladiators; advocated animal dissection and whose teachings influenced medieval Europe. Saw science as a method of discovery.

Andreas Vesalius

Published De Humani Corporis Fabrica; advanced human anatomy through firsthand dissection.

William Harvey

Physiologist who described blood circulation (De Motu Cordis). Realized blood flows out from heart and back to it again.

Avicenna (Ibn Sina)

Galen of Islam; Canon of Medicine, integrated Galen/Aristotle with new discoveries.

Maimonides

Jewish physician who authored influential medical texts and served Saladin.

Antony van Leeuwenhoek

Invented a high-magnification simple microscope and observed microbes and cells.

Robert Hooke

Improved microscopes and named cells; authored Micrographia.

Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann

Contributed to cell theory; emphasized that plants are composed of cells. First tenet of cell theory.

Scientific Method

Systematic approach to acquiring knowledge through observation, hypothesis, and experiments.

Inductive Method

Making many observations to derive generalizations and predictions.

Hypothetico-Deductive Method

More physiological knowledge gained by this method. Starting with a question, forming a testable hypothesis, and testing it.

Falsifiability

The criterion that a claim must be testable and able to be proven false.

Hypothesis

A testable educated guess or possible explanation written as if–then statements.

Experimental Design

Plan including sample size, controls, and procedures to ensure valid results.

Control Group

Group not receiving the experimental treatment; used for comparison.

Psychosomatic Effects

Effects of the subject’s state of mind on his or her physiology.

Placebo

Inert substance used to control psychosomatic or expectation effects.

Double-Blind Study

Neither researchers nor participants know group assignments to prevent experimenter bias.

P-Value

Probability that observed results are due to chance; P ≤ 0.05 is commonly used as significance.

Replicability

The ability to reproduce study results in a new population.

Peer Review

Critical evaluation by experts prior to funding or publication. Ensures honesty, objectivity, and quality in science.

Scientific Fact

Information that can be independently verified by a trained person.

Law of Nature

Generalization about the predictable way matter and energy behave. Written as verbal statements or mathematical formula.

Theory

An explanatory statement or set of statements derived from facts, laws,

and confirmed hypotheses

Effect Size

A quantitative measure of the magnitude of a phenomenon, often used to assess the strength of a relationship or the effectiveness of a treatment in research. In other words, how big is the effect?

Independent Variable (IV)

The variable deliberately changed by the researcher on the X-axis in graphs.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The variable measured in response to the IV on the Y-axis in graphs.

Charles Darwin

The most influential biologist who created an explanation of how species originate and change through time by nautral selection. Wrote the book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection and The Descent of Man.

Adaptations

Features of an organism’s anatomy, physiology, or behavior that have evolved in response to these selection pressures and enable the organism to cope with the challenges of its environment and succeed.

Model

Animal species are selected for research on a particular problem. Rats and mice are extensively used due to issues involved with using chimpanzees.

Primates

Order of mammals to which humans, monkeys, and apes belong.

The Hierarchy of Complexity

Atoms < Molecules < Organelles < Cells < Tissues < Organs < Organ Systems < Organism

Reductionism

Theory that a large, complex system such as the human body can be understood by studying its simpler components. First espoused by Aristotle and is essential to scientific thinking.

Holism

There are “emergent properties” of the whole organism that cannot be predicted from the properties of the separate parts. Humans are more than the sum of their parts. Complementary theory to Reductionism.

Epithelial Tissue

Barrier, cover, lines, controls passage, secretes…

Connective Tissue

Supports, transports, binds…

Muscular Tissue

Movement

Neural Tissue

Control, communicate

Characteristics of Life

Respond to changes in their immediate environment; Show adaptability, grow, develop, and reproduce; Are capable of some degree of movement, If this movement is from one place to another, it’s called locomotion.

Gradient

A difference in concentration, temperature, or pressure; matter/energy flow down gradients.

Homeostasis

The ability to detect change, activate mechanisms that oppose it, and thereby maintain relatively stable internal conditions.

Claude Bernard

Noted fairly constant/stable internal conditions despite changing external conditions (for example, temperature).

Walter Cannon

Coined the term Homeostasis

Negative Feedback

Mechanism that reverses a change to restore within a limited range around a set point (dynamic equilibrium). The body senses a change and “negates” or reverses it.

Positive Feedback

Self-amplifying loop that reinforces a change; can be beneficial (childbirth) or harmful (high fever).

Receptor

Senses/detect change

Integrator

Control center that responds

Effector

Structures that restore homeostasis

Vasodilation

If too warm, vessels dilate in the skin and sweating begins (heat-losing mechanism).

Vasconstriction

If too cold, vessels in the skin constrict and shivering begins (heat-gaining mechanism)

Eponyms

Some structures named after people.

Radiography

Discovered by William Roentgen in 1885. Penetrates tissues to darken photographic film beneath the body.

Radiopaque Substances

Injected or swallow and fills hollow structures such as blood vessels and intestinal tract.

Computed Tomography (CT scan)

Low-intensity X-rays and computer analysis. Slice-type image. Useful for identifying tumors, aneurysms, cerebral, hemorrhages, kidney stones, etc

Positron Emission Tomography (PET scan)

Assesses metabolic state of tissue (inject radioactively labeled glucose). Distinguished tissues most active at a given moment. Damaged tissues appear dark.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Slice-type image. Superior quality to CT scan. Best for soft tissue. fMRI - detecting changes in blood flow; Assesses metabolic state of tissue (oxygen use).

Sonography

Second oldest and second most widely used. Avoids harmful X-rays: Obstetrics and images not very sharp.

11 Organ Systems

Integumentary, Skeletal, Muscular, Nervous, Endocrine, Lymphatic, Respiratory, Digestive, Urinary, Reproductive, Cardiovascular.

Anatomical Position

Standing posture with feet together, head forward, arms at sides, palms facing forward.

Directional Terms

Terms like superior, inferior, anterior, posterior, medial, lateral, proximal, distal, superficial, deep used to describe locations.

Planes of the Body

Sagittal (left-right), Median (midline), Frontal/Coronal, Transverse (horizontal), Oblique.

Cranial/Ventral/Dorsal/Caudal

Descriptors for locations: cranium (head), ventral (anterior), dorsal (posterior), caudal (tail/end toward feet).