Medical Physiology I - Intro to Course & Concepts in Physiology

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering key physiological concepts, organizational levels, feedback mechanisms, directional terminology, body planes, and cavities from Lecture 1.

Physiology

The study of the functions of an organism and its constituent parts.

Endocrinology

The subdiscipline of physiology that studies hormones (chemical regulators in the blood) and how they control body functions.

Pathophysiology

The subdiscipline of physiology concerned with functional changes associated with disease and aging.

Integrative Physiology

The subdiscipline of physiology studying how different parts of the body work together to accomplish a particular function.

Levels of Structural Organization

The hierarchical organization of the human body, from the chemical level (atoms, molecules, organelles), to cellular, tissue, organ, organ system, and organismal levels.

Differentiation

The developmental process by which an unspecialized cell transforms into a specialized cell with a distinct structure and function.

Interstitial Fluid

Also known as tissue fluid, it is the extracellular fluid surrounding all non-blood cells within the internal environment.

Homeostasis

The maintenance of relatively stable internal conditions within a dynamic state of equilibrium despite continuous external changes.

Receptor (Homeostatic Control)

A sensor in a homeostatic mechanism that detects change in a variable and sends input along an afferent pathway to the control center.

Effector (Homeostatic Control)

A component of a homeostatic control system that receives output from the control center along an efferent pathway and produces a response to restore balance.

Negative Feedback Regulation

The primary homeostatic control mechanism where the body's response reduces or shuts off the original stimulus, shifting the variable in the opposite direction.

Positive Feedback Regulation

A homeostatic mechanism where the response enhances or exaggerates the original stimulus, causing the variable to continue in the same direction.

Antagonistic Controls

Independent physiological regulators that exert opposite effects on a system to maintain homeostasis, such as heat production and heat dissipation.

Anatomical Position

Standard reference position in which a person stands upright, feet slightly apart, eyes facing forward, with arms at the sides, palms facing forward, and thumbs pointing away from the body.

Superior (Cranial)

Directional term meaning toward the head end or upper part of a structure or the body; above.

Inferior (Caudal)

Directional term meaning away from the head end or toward the lower part of a structure or the body; below.

Anterior (Ventral)

Directional term meaning toward or at the front of the body; in front of.

Posterior (Dorsal)

Directional term meaning toward or at the back of the body; behind.

Proximal

Directional term meaning closer to the origin of a body part or point of attachment of a limb to the body trunk.

Distal

Directional term meaning farther from the origin of a body part or point of attachment of a limb to the body trunk.

Sagittal Plane

A vertical plane that divides the body vertically into right and left parts.

Frontal (Coronal) Plane

A vertical plane that divides the body into anterior (front) and posterior (back) parts.

Transverse Plane

A horizontal plane running at a $90^\text{o}$ angle to vertical planes, dividing the body into superior (top) and inferior (bottom) parts.

Dorsal Body Cavity

Subdivided into the cranial cavity (containing the brain) and vertebral cavity (containing the spinal cord), protecting the central nervous system.

Ventral Body Cavity

Houses internal visceral organs and is divided by the diaphragm into the thoracic cavity and abdominopelvic cavity.

Parietal Serosa

The outer layer of a double-layered serous membrane that lines internal body cavity walls.

Visceral Serosa

The inner layer of a double-layered serous membrane that directly covers internal organs (viscera).

Abdominopelvic Quadrants

Clinical divisions of the abdominal region into four areas: Right Upper Quadrant (RUQ), Left Upper Quadrant (LUQ), Right Lower Quadrant (RLQ), and Left Lower Quadrant (LLQ).