Final Exam Study Guide A&P 1 Fall 2025

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts and terminology related to muscle structure, nervous system anatomy, and sensory receptors for the A&P 1 final exam.

Epimysium

The outermost layer surrounding the entire muscle.

Perimysium

The sheath surrounding each fascicle (bundle of muscle fibers).

Endomysium

The thin layer surrounding individual muscle fibers (cells).

Fusiform muscle

A spindle-shaped muscle with a central belly that tapers at both ends, e.g., biceps brachii.

Convergent muscle

Muscle fibers that spread out from a broad origin and converge to a single tendon or narrow insertion, e.g., pectoralis major.

Circular muscle

Fibers arranged in concentric rings around an opening; contraction closes the opening, e.g., orbicularis oris.

Pennate muscle

Muscle with short fibers attaching obliquely to a central tendon, high force, less range.

Tendon

A dense, regular connective tissue connecting muscle to bone, primarily made of parallel bundles of type I collagen.

Ligament

A structure that connects bone to bone, made of dense regular connective tissue predominantly composed of type I collagen.

Aponeurosis

A broad, flat sheet of dense regular connective tissue that connects muscle to bone or other muscles.

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE)

An enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine in the neuromuscular junction, terminating its action.

Motor unit

A single motor neuron and all the skeletal muscle fibers it innervates.

Excitation-contraction coupling

The process mediated by T-tubules and sarcoplasmic reticulum to trigger muscle contraction.

Sarcomere

The basic contractile unit of muscle fibers, where Z-lines distance shortens during contraction.

Calcium (Ca2+) role in muscle contraction

Binds to troponin to move tropomyosin and expose myosin-binding sites on actin.

Grey matter

Made of neuronal cell bodies, dendrites, and unmyelinated axons; found in the outer cortex and deep nuclei of the brain.

White matter

Made of myelinated axons; found deeper to the cortex in the brain and in the peripheral columns of the spinal cord.

Frontal lobe function

Involved in voluntary motor control, planning, speech production, and decision-making.

Parietal lobe function

Responsible for somatosensory processing and spatial orientation.

Temporal lobe function

Plays a role in auditory processing, memory, and emotion.

Occipital lobe function

Primary site for visual processing and feature detection.

Mechanoreceptors

Sensory receptors that detect touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception.

Nociceptors

Sensory receptors that respond to pain from thermal, mechanical, or chemical stimuli.

Photoreceptors

Cells in the retina (rods and cones) that detect light and enable vision.

Optic nerve function

Transmits visual information from the retina to the brain.

Cornea

Transparent anterior surface providing most of the eye's focusing power.

Lens

Flexible structure that fine-tunes focus for near vs. far objects.

Choroid function

Provides vascular supply to the retina, removes waste, and absorbs stray light.