[MOD1LEC] Vocab Terms

Anatomy

Scientific study of structure

Morphology

Scientific study of shape

Dissection

• Most productive method of studying internal anatomy

• Dates back to ancient Greece (300 BC)

• Involves carefully cutting and separating tissues to reveal their relationships

Cadaver

Dead human body

Gross anatomy

Structures that can be seen with the naked eye

• Hair

• Skin color

• Body shape

• Fingernails

Microscopic anatomy

Structure of cells and tissues as revealed by a light microscope

Ultra structure

Finer details revealed by an electron microscope

Palpation

We can comprehend the anatomy of a living person through palpation by:

• Feeling the organs with your hands

• Palpating swollen lymph nodes in the neck

• Taking someone’s pulse

Auscultation

We can comprehend the anatomy of a living person through auscultation by:

• Listening to the natural sounds of the body

• Listening to the heart and lungs using a stethoscope

Percussion

We can comprehend the anatomy of a living person through percussion by:

• Tapping on the body and listening to the echo

• Listening for abnormal pockets of fluid or air

Physiology

Scientific study of function

Comparative physiology

The scientific study of how different organisms have solved the same problems experienced by most organisms, including things like

• The regulation of blood pressure

• The regulation of water balance

• Respiration (breathing)

Hydrophilic

Having an affinity for water; readily absorbing or dissolving in water

Hydrophobic

Repelling, tending not to combine with, or incapable of dissolving in water

Simple diffusion

The process where molecules and ions move from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration through a selectively-permeable membrane until equilibrium is reached

• Requires NO input of energy from the cell

• Utilizes the random motion of atoms and molecules

• REQUIRES NO ENERGY (ATP)

Active transport

The process where molecules and ions are conveyed by a gate (carrier protein) from an area of lower concentration to an area of higher concentration through a selectively-permeable membrane

• Requires lots of energy (30-40% of all the cell’s energy)

• Movement against the flow of other molecules and ions, which is more difficult and requires more energy

• Low concentration » high concentration == movement up concentration gradient (more difficult)

Facilitated diffusion

The process where specific solutes recognized by their corresponding gate (carrier protein) are conveyed from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration through a selectively-permeable membrane

• Gate A will help solute A pass through the selectively permeable membrane

• Gate A will NOT help solute C pass through the selectively permeable membrane

• This special type of diffusion occurs for specific molecules that are too large to pass through the pores of the plasma membrane or are not soluble in lipids

• REQUIRES NO ENERGY (ATP)

Filtration

The process where molecules are forced between cells or through filtration pores by hydrostatic pressure (force of moving water) that is greater on one side than the other

• Used to separate large particles from liquids

• Plasma is filtered from the blood by openings in the capillaries

  • The fluids are forced through the capillary wall by blood pressure, while larger particles are held back

• REQUIRES NO ENERGY (ATP)

Osmosis (water only)

The process where higher concentrations of water diffuse to an area of lower concentration

• Crucial to the body’s distribution of water (fluid balance)

• Water can diffuse straight through the hydrophobic (water hating) regions of a plasma membrane

  • Water diffuses more easily through membrane proteins like aquaporins (gates specific to water)

• OSMOSIS IS DRIVEN BY OSMOTIC PRESSURE

Exocytosis

The general bulk transport of any or all materials out of the cell

Endocytosis

The general bulk transport of any or all materials into the cell

Phagocytosis

The specific bulk transport of food or pathogens into the cell

Pinocytosis

The specific bulk transport of water into the cell

Autophagy

The digestion of worn out or old organelles within the cellAp

Receptors

Proteins found on the surface of a plasma membrane that receive chemical signals

Enzymes

Catalysts, or a substance usually used in small amounts relative to the reactants, that modifies and increases the rate of reaction without being consumed in the process

• These carry out the final stages of starch and protein digestion in the small intestine

• They break down hormones and other signaling molecules when their job is done

Channel proteins

Proteins that allow water and hydrophilic solutes to pass through a plasma membrane

Gates are a type of channel protein that respond only under certain circumstances, including:

• Ligand-gated channels which respond to chemical messengers

• Voltage-gated channels which respond to changes in electrical potential (voltage) across the plasma membrane

• Mechanically-gated channels which respond to physical stress on a cell

Carriers

Bind to glucose, electrolytes, and other solutes, transferring them to the other side of the membrane

Some carriers are known as pumps, and consume ATP in the process