Chapter 1: Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing core definitions, key historical figures, subdisciplines of anatomy and physiology, and the structural hierarchy from Chapter 1.

Discipline

A specific field of study.

Human anatomy

The study of the structure and form of human body parts and their relationships to one another.

Vesalius

The father of modern anatomy who authored the first anatomical atlas, entitled On the Structure of the Human Body, published in 1543.

Bisection

The unethical practice of dissecting living bodies to study anatomy.

Human physiology

The study of the function of the human body and its parts.

William Harvey

The father of modern physiology who primarily studied the heart and blood vessels in the cardiovascular system during the 1600s.

Principle of complementarity of structure and function

The concept that anatomy dictates physiology, meaning function is entirely dependent on structure; also referred to as the unity of form and function.

Gross anatomy

Also known as macroscopic anatomy, the subdiscipline of anatomy that studies structures large enough to be examined with the naked eye.

Regional anatomy

A branch of gross anatomy focused on all the structures within a specific region of the body.

Systemic anatomy

A branch of gross anatomy focused on structures belonging to a specific organ system.

Surface anatomy

A branch of gross anatomy that relates internal structures visible to the naked eye to the overlying body surface or skin.

Clinical anatomy

The study of gross anatomical structures as they relate to clinical conditions, medical diseases, or injuries.

Microscopic anatomy

The subdiscipline of anatomy that studies structures too small to be seen with the naked eye, requiring the use of a microscope.

Cytology

A subdiscipline of microscopic anatomy focused on the study of the structure and anatomy of cells.

Histology

A subdiscipline of microscopic anatomy focused on the study of tissues.

Embryology

A branch of developmental anatomy that studies the structural changes occurring within the embryo.

Gerontology

A branch of developmental anatomy that studies anatomical changes associated with the elderly or aged population.

Systemic physiology

The subdiscipline of physiology that studies the function of specific organ systems.

Renal physiology

The specialized study of the function of the kidneys.

Pathophysiology

Also called pathological physiology, the subdiscipline of physiology that studies the altered function of diseased or abnormal organs and conditions.

Structural hierarchy

Also called the hierarchy of complexity, it is the ordered arrangement of structural levels in the body, ranked from simplest to most complex.

Chemical level

The simplest structural level of organization, consisting of nonliving atoms and molecules such as water, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and DNA.

Cell level

The structural level comprised of living units constructed from nonliving chemicals, encompassing over 200 different cell types in the human body.

Tissue level

The structural level consisting of groups of similar cells working together to perform at least one common purpose.

Four primary tissue types

The main categories into which all body tissues are grouped: epithelium, muscle tissue, connective tissue, and nervous tissue.

Organ level

A structural level composed of two or more different tissue types working together to perform specific tasks, typically possessing definite anatomical boundaries.

Organ system level

The structural level comprising two or more different organs working together to carry out broader body functions, totaling 11 systems in the human body.

Organism level

The highest and most complex structural level of organization, representing the human body as a whole created by the sum total of all 11 organ systems.