Week 1 Pre-Lab: Interpreting Cross Sections

Flashcards covering key concepts from the Week 1 Pre-Lab: Interpreting Cross Sections notes, including planes, orientation, tissue textures, and the thorax cross-section activity.

What is the main goal of interpreting cross sections in this week’s lab?

To distinguish different organs by understanding tissue types, locations, and functions, and to learn how 2D slices (medical images) correspond to 3D anatomy.

Name the three planes of orientation used in cross-sectional anatomy.

Transverse (horizontal), sagittal, and coronal (frontal) planes.

What are two structures you should identify first to orient yourself in a head cross-section?

Facial features (nose, eyes, mouth) and the vertebral column.

If you connect the nose and mouth with an imaginary line in a cross-section, which plane does that line lie in?

Sagittal plane (the line travels superior to inferior).

What does drawing a slice along that imaginary line allow you to visualize?

A sagittal cross-section of the head along that line.

How do you verify your orientation in a cross-section image?

Identify posterior vs anterior and superior vs inferior, and check expected relationships (e.g., brain posterior to forehead; vertebral bodies anterior to the spinal cord).

Describe typical textures and colors for tissues in cross-sections.

Muscles pink and striated; bone appears spongy inside; open spaces (like nose) are clear; glands bumpy; arteries round and pink; veins flat or misshapen; bones may appear green after processing.

What general rule connects organ function to morphology in cross-section interpretation?

Structure equals function; morphology should reflect the function of the organ.

In the thorax cross-section practice, which two structures are suggested to identify to guide the imaginary slice?

The vertebral column and the sternum.

In that thorax exercise, in which direction does the imaginary line from vertebral column to sternum travel?

Anterior to posterior (back to front).

Would the anterior-posterior line between vertebral column and sternum split the body into which halves?

Front and back halves (anterior vs posterior).

What anatomical features should you look for to verify thorax orientation in a cross-section?

Lungs located laterally to the mediastinum; ribs; lungs containing vessels, bronchi, and air pockets.

How do the walls of arteries compare to those of veins in cross-sections?

Arteries have thicker walls and appear round and pink; veins are flatter or mis-shaped.