Structural Organisation in Animals Practice Flashcards

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers structural organization in animals, including specific details on animal tissues and the morphology and anatomy of the earthworm, cockroach, and frog as described in Chapter 7.

Tissue

A group of similar cells along with intercellular substances that perform a specific function.

Simple Epithelium

A tissue composed of a single layer of cells that functions as a lining for body cavities, ducts, and tubes.

Compound Epithelium

A tissue consisting of two or more cell layers that primarily provides protection against chemical and mechanical stresses.

Squamous Epithelium

A single thin layer of flattened cells with irregular boundaries involved in forming diffusion boundaries.

Cuboidal Epithelium

A single layer of cube-like cells commonly found in gland ducts and tubular parts of nephrons, functioning in secretion and absorption.

Columnar Epithelium

A single layer of tall and slender cells with nuclei located at the base, found in the lining of the stomach and intestine.

Ciliated Epithelium

Columnar or cuboidal cells bearing cilia on their free surface to move particles or mucus in a specific direction over the epithelium.

Exocrine Glands

Glands that release secretions like mucus, saliva, and digestive enzymes through ducts or tubes.

Endocrine Glands

Ductless glands that secrete hormones directly into the fluid bathing the gland.

Tight Junctions

Specialized links that help stop substances from leaking across a tissue.

Gap Junctions

Junctions that facilitate cell communication by connecting the cytoplasm of adjoining cells for the rapid transfer of ions and molecules.

Fibroblasts

Cells in connective tissue that produce and secrete structural protein fibres like collagen or elastin.

Areolar Tissue

A type of loose connective tissue present beneath the skin that serves as a support framework for epithelium.

Adipose Tissue

A loose connective tissue located beneath the skin specialized for the storage of excess nutrients as fats.

Tendons

Dense regular connective tissues that attach skeletal muscles to bones.

Ligaments

Dense regular connective tissues that attach one bone to another.

Chondrocytes

Cells of cartilage enclosed in small cavities within the matrix they secrete.

Osteocytes

Bone cells located in spaces called lacunae.

Myofibrils

Numerous fine fibrils that compose cylindrical muscle fibres.

Skeletal Muscle

Striated (striped) muscle tissue closely attached to skeletal bones and bundled in a parallel fashion.

Smooth Muscle

Involuntary, non-striated fusiform fibres found in the walls of internal organs like blood vessels and the stomach.

Cardiac Muscle

Contractile tissue present only in the heart with intercalated discs that allow cells to contract as a unit.

Neurons

The excitable unit of the neural system that generates electrical disturbances when stimulated.

Neuroglia

Cells that protect and support neurons, making up more than one-half the volume of neural tissue in the body.

Prostomium

A sensory lobe in earthworms that serves as a covering for the mouth and a wedge to force open soil cracks.

Clitellum

A prominent dark band of glandular tissue in mature earthworms covering segments 14-16.

Typhlosole

An internal median fold of the dorsal wall of an earthworm's intestine that increases the effective area of absorption.

Nephridia

Segmentally arranged coiled tubules in earthworms that regulate the volume and composition of body fluids.

Vermicomposting

The process of increasing soil fertility through the activity of earthworms.

Sclerites

Hardened plates of the cockroach exoskeleton, consisting of dorsal tergites and ventral sternites.

Tegmina

Opaque, dark, and leathery mesothoracic forewings of a cockroach.

Malpighian Tubules

Thin yellow filamentous tubules at the junction of the midgut and hindgut in cockroaches that remove excretory products.

Ommatidia

About 2000 hexagonal units in each compound eye of a cockroach that provide mosaic vision.

Paurometabolous

A type of development through nymphal stages, where the cockroach nymph grows by moulting approximately 13 times.

Aestivation

A state of 'summer sleep' where frogs take shelter in deep burrows to protect themselves from extreme heat.

Hibernation

The 'winter sleep' frogs undergo to protect themselves from extreme cold.

Tympanum

A membranous structure on either side of a frog's eyes that receives sound signals.

Cloaca

A small median chamber in frogs used to pass faecal matter, urine, and sperms to the exterior.

Mesorchium

A double fold of peritoneum by which the testes of a frog are adhered to the upper part of the kidneys.