Lecture Notes - Module One: Basic Concepts of Living Organisms Pages 5-6

This contains pages 5 through 6

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)

• Carefully cutting and separating tissues to reveal their relationships

Cadaver

Dead human body

Gross anatomy

Structures seen with naked eye

Microscopic anatomy

Structure of cells and tissues as revealed by a light microscope

Ultra structure

Finer details revealed by electron microscope

Comparative anatomy

• Compare more than one species

• Cats and rats in labs

Anatomy of A Living Person: Palpation

• Feel organs with hands

• Palpate swollen lymph nodes in neck

• Take pulse

Anatomy of a Living Person: Auscultation

• Listening to natural sounds of the body

• Heart/lungs (stethoscope)

Anatomy of a Living Person: Percussion

• Tap on body and listen to echo

• Listen for abnormal pockets of fluid or air

Physiology

Scientific study of “function”

Comparative physiology

How different species have solved the same problems

• Regulate blood pressure

• Water balance

• Respiration

Kangaroo rat doesn’t drink water; lives on metabolic water

Why Study Anatomy and Physiology Together?

• Structure (shape) dictates function. They are inseparable

• All anatomy is the result of physiology

• All physiology made possible by anatomy

Physiology

• Largely a group of mechanisms for maintaining homeostasis

• Loss of homeostatic control tends to cause illness and death