Anatomy and Physiology - Major Themes

Flashcards reviewing key concepts from an Anatomy and Physiology lecture, focusing on themes, methods, origins, and terminology.

What is Anatomy?

Study of the structure of the body.

What is Physiology?

Study of the function of the body.

What are some of the ways to examine the structure of the human body?

Inspection, Palpation, Auscultation, Percussion, Dissection, Comparative Anatomy, Exploratory Surgery, Radiology

What are the subdisciplines of anatomy?

Gross anatomy, Histology, Histopathology, Cytology

What are the subdisciplines of physiology?

Neurophysiology, Endocrinology, Pathophysiology, Comparative Physiology

Who was Hippocrates?

Greek physician, “Father of medicine” who established a code of ethics and urged physicians to seek natural causes of disease.

Who was Claudius Galen?

Physician to Roman gladiators who viewed science as a method of discovery.

Who was Andreas Vesalius?

Published 'De Humani Corporis Fabrica,' the first atlas of anatomy, based on his own dissections.

Who was William Harvey?

Published 'De Motu Cordis' and realized blood flows out from the heart and back to it again.

Who was Robert Hooke?

First to see and name 'cells'.

What did Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann do?

Concluded that all organisms are composed of cells.

What is the inductive method?

Process of making numerous observations until one becomes confident in drawing generalizations and predictions.

What is the hypothetico-deductive method?

Investigator formulates a hypothesis and tests it.

What are elements of experimental design?

Sample size, controls, psychosomatic effects, experimenter bias, and statistical testing.

What is peer review?

Critical evaluation by other experts in the field.

What is a scientific fact?

Information that can be independently verified.

What is a law of nature?

Generalization about the way matter and energy behave.

What is a theory?

Explanatory statement derived from facts, laws, and confirmed hypotheses.

What is evolution?

Change in genetic composition of a population of organisms.

What are selection pressures?

Forces that promote reproductive success of some individuals more than others.

What is Bipedalism?

Standing and walking on two legs.

What is the hierarchy of complexity in the human body?

Organism, organ system, organ, tissue, cell, organelle, molecule, atom

What is Reductionism?

Theory that large, complex systems can be understood by studying their simpler components.

What is Situs Inversus?

Anatomical left-right reversal of organ placement.

What is homeostasis?

Maintaining relatively stable internal conditions.

What is negative feedback?

Mechanism that keeps a variable close to its set point by sensing a change and reversing it.

What is Positive Feedback?

Self-amplifying cycle that leads to greater change in the same direction.

What is a gradient?

Difference in chemical concentration, charge, temperature, or pressure between two points.

What are types of Medical Imaging?

Radiography, Computed Tomography (CT) scan, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Sonography