Comprehensive Study Guide: Nervous, Endocrine, Cardiovascular Systems, and Blood

Flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the final lecture exam notes, focusing on the muscular, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular systems, and blood.

Skeletal muscle

Voluntary, striated muscle tissue attached to bones that can have fast or slow fibers.

Smooth muscle

Involuntary, non-striated muscle found in the walls of hollow organs, categorized as multiunit or visceral.

Cardiac muscle

Striated, involuntary muscle that is self-exciting and contains intercalated discs for rhythmic contraction.

Epimysium

Connective tissue layer that surrounds the entire muscle.

Sarcoplasm

The cytoplasm of a muscle cell.

Myosin

Thick filament protein that forms cross-bridges during muscle contraction.

Action potential

A temporary change in membrane potential that triggers neuronal communication.

Neuromuscular Junction (NMJ)

The synapse between a motor neuron and a muscle fiber where acetylcholine is released.

Sliding Filament Theory

The mechanism explaining muscle contraction based on the sliding of myofilaments past each other.

Resting membrane potential

The potential difference across the membrane of a neuron at rest, typically around –70 mV.

Saltatory conduction

Electrical signal transmission that jumps across the nodes of Ranvier in myelinated axons.

Steroid Hormones

Fat-soluble hormones that diffuse through cell membranes and bind to intracellular receptors.

Insulin

A hormone produced by the pancreas that lowers blood glucose levels.

Epinephrine

A hormone released by the adrenal medulla, involved in the 'fight or flight' response.

Systolic pressure

Blood pressure during ventricular contraction.

Hematocrit

The percentage of red blood cells in blood.

Granulocytes

A type of white blood cell that includes neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils.