Full Human Anatomy & Physiology Encyclopedia (Ai Help)

Give an example of negative feedback.

Body-temperature regulation or blood-glucose regulation.

Give an example of positive feedback.

Labor contractions or platelet-driven blood clotting.

What are the basic components of a homeostatic control system?

A stimulus, receptor/sensor, control center, and effector.

What are the four primary tissue types?

Epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous tissue.

What are the levels of structural organization from simplest to most complex?

Chemical, cellular, tissue, organ, organ-system, and organismal levels.

What does anterior mean?

Toward the front of the body.

What does contralateral mean?

On the opposite side of the body.

What does deep mean?

Farther from the body surface.

What does distal mean?

Farther from the point of attachment or origin of a limb.

What does inferior mean?

Toward the feet or lower part of a structure.

What does ipsilateral mean?

On the same side of the body.

What does lateral mean?

Away from the body's midline.

What does medial mean?

Toward the body's midline.

What does posterior mean?

Toward the back of the body.

What does proximal mean?

Closer to the point of attachment or origin of a limb.

What does superficial mean?

Closer to the body surface.

What does superior mean?

Toward the head or upper part of a structure.

What does the cranial cavity contain?

The brain.

What does the vertebral cavity contain?

The spinal cord.

What is a normal range?

The range of values around a set point that is compatible with normal function.

What is a parietal serous membrane?

The layer lining the body wall of a serous cavity.

What is a serous membrane?

A thin membrane lining a closed ventral body cavity and covering organs within it.

What is a set point?

The target value around which a regulated physiological variable normally fluctuates.

What is a visceral serous membrane?

The layer covering the surface of an organ.

What is an oblique plane?

A plane passing through the body at an angle rather than parallel to the standard planes.

What is an organ?

A structure made of at least two tissue types that performs specific functions.

What is anatomical position?

Standing upright, facing forward, arms at the sides, palms facing forward, and feet directed forward.

What is anatomy?

The study of body structure and the relationships among structures.

What is cytology?

The study of cells.

What is gross anatomy?

Study of structures large enough to be seen without a microscope.

What is histology?

The study of tissues at the microscopic level.

What is homeostasis?

Maintenance of relatively stable internal conditions within a changing environment.

What is microscopic anatomy?

Study of structures that require magnification, including cells and tissues.

What is negative feedback?

A control mechanism in which the response reduces or reverses the initial change.

What is physiology?

The study of how body structures function and interact.

What is positive feedback?

A control mechanism in which the response amplifies the initial change until a specific endpoint is reached.

What is regional anatomy?

Study of all structures in a particular body region.

What is serous fluid?

Lubricating fluid between parietal and visceral serous membranes.

What is systemic anatomy?

Study of the structures of a particular organ system.

What is the dorsal body cavity?

The posterior body cavity containing the cranial and vertebral cavities.

What is the frontal plane?

A plane dividing the body into anterior and posterior portions.

What is the mediastinum?

The central region of the thoracic cavity between the pleural cavities.

What is the midsagittal plane?

A sagittal plane dividing the body into equal or nearly equal left and right halves.

What is the pericardial cavity?

The serous cavity surrounding the heart.

What is the peritoneal cavity?

The serous cavity associated with many abdominal and pelvic organs.

What is the pleural cavity?

The serous cavity surrounding each lung.

What is the sagittal plane?

A plane dividing the body into left and right portions.

What is the transverse plane?

A plane dividing the body into superior and inferior portions.

What is the ventral body cavity?

The anterior body cavity containing the thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities.

What are lysosomes?

Membrane-bound compartments containing enzymes that digest cellular material.

What are the four bases in DNA?

Adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine.

What base replaces thymine in RNA?

Uracil.

What determines an element's atomic number?

The number of protons in its nucleus.

What does a buffer do?

It resists large changes in pH by binding or releasing hydrogen ions.

What is ATP?

A nucleotide-based molecule that transfers usable chemical energy for cellular work.

What is a carbohydrate?

An organic molecule used mainly for energy and, in some forms, structural functions.

What is a cation?

A positively charged ion.

What is a covalent bond?

A bond formed when atoms share electron pairs.

What is a lipid?

A largely hydrophobic group of molecules that includes fats, phospholipids, and steroids.

What is a nucleotide?

A molecule composed of a sugar, phosphate group, and nitrogenous base.

What is a phospholipid?

A lipid with a hydrophilic phosphate-containing head and hydrophobic fatty-acid tails.

What is a polar covalent bond?

A covalent bond in which electrons are shared unequally.

What is a protein?

A polymer of amino acids folded into a structure that enables specific functions.

What is a receptor?

A protein or other molecule that detects a specific signal and initiates a cellular response.

What is a substrate?

The reactant molecule on which an enzyme acts.

What is active transport?

Movement of a substance against its gradient using cellular energy, directly or indirectly.

What is an anion?

A negatively charged ion.

What is an atom?

The smallest unit of an element that retains the element's chemical properties.

What is an enzyme?

A biological catalyst that lowers activation energy without being consumed by the reaction.

What is an ion?

An atom or molecule with a net electrical charge because it has gained or lost electrons.

What is an ionic bond?

An attraction between oppositely charged ions, typically after electron transfer.

What is an isotope?

An atom of an element with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons.

What is apoptosis?

Programmed, regulated cell death.

What is denaturation?

Loss of a protein's normal three-dimensional structure and function, often caused by heat or extreme pH.

What is endocytosis?

Cellular uptake of material by forming a vesicle from the plasma membrane.

What is exocytosis?

Release of cellular material when a vesicle fuses with the plasma membrane.

What is facilitated diffusion?

Passive movement down a gradient through a membrane protein.

What is hydrogen bonding?

A weak attraction between a partially positive hydrogen and an electronegative atom in another molecule or region.

What is mitosis?

Nuclear division producing two genetically similar nuclei.

What is osmosis?

Net movement of water across a selectively permeable membrane toward the side with greater effective solute concentration.

What is pH?

A logarithmic measure related to hydrogen-ion concentration; lower pH means greater hydrogen-ion concentration.

What is primary active transport?

Active transport powered directly by ATP hydrolysis.

What is secondary active transport?

Transport powered indirectly by an ion gradient established by primary active transport.

What is simple diffusion?

Passive movement of a substance down its concentration or electrochemical gradient.

What is the Golgi apparatus?

An organelle that modifies, sorts, and packages proteins and lipids.

What is the cell cycle?

The sequence of events by which a cell grows, duplicates its DNA, and divides.

What is the cytoskeleton?

A network of protein filaments that supports cell shape, organization, movement, and intracellular transport.

What is the mitochondrion?

An organelle that generates most cellular ATP through aerobic metabolism.

What is the nucleolus?

A nuclear region where rRNA is produced and ribosomal subunits begin assembly.

What is the nucleus?

The organelle containing most of the cell's DNA and regulating gene expression.

What is the plasma membrane?

A selectively permeable phospholipid bilayer containing proteins and other components.

What is the rough endoplasmic reticulum?

Membrane network studded with ribosomes that synthesizes and processes many proteins.

What is the smooth endoplasmic reticulum?

Membrane network involved in lipid synthesis, detoxification, and calcium storage in some cells.

What is transcription?

Synthesis of RNA using DNA as a template.

What is translation?

Synthesis of a polypeptide using information carried by messenger RNA.

Why is water an excellent solvent for ions?

Its polar molecules surround and stabilize charged particles.

Why is water polar?

Oxygen attracts shared electrons more strongly than hydrogen, creating partial charges.

What are elastic fibers?

Fibers that permit stretch and recoil.

What are major functions of epithelium?

Protection, absorption, secretion, filtration, and sensation.

What are the main components of extracellular matrix?

Ground substance and protein fibers.