Anatomy & Physiology Week 1 &2

Define Anatomy and physiology

ANATOMY

The study of structures of the body

PHYSIOLOGY

The study of functions of the structures of the body

Describe the structural organization of the human body on a chemical, cellular, tissue,

organ, system, and organismal level.

1. The chemical level includes atoms, the smallest units of matter that participate in chemical reactions, and molecules, two or more atoms joined together. (letters of the alphabet)

2. Molecules combine to form structures at the next level of organization—the cellular level. Cells are the basic structural and functional units of an organism. (words)

3. The tissue level is the next level of structural organization. Tissues are groups of cells and the materials surrounding them that work together to perform a particular function. (sentences)

4. At the organ level, different kinds of tissues join together to form body structures. Organs usually have a recognizable shape, are composed of two or more different types of tissues, and have specific functions. (paragraphs)

5. The next level of structural organization in the body is the system level. A system consists of related organs that have a common function. (chapters)

6. The organismal level is the largest level of organization. All of the systems of the body combine to make up an organismal level (OR‐ga‐nizm), that is, one human being. (books)

List the 11 systems of the human body, representative organs present in each, and their general functions.

1. Integumentary System - Components: Skin and structures associated with it, such as hair, nails, and sweat glands and oil glands. Components: Bones and joints of the body and their associated cartilages

   Functions: Helps regulate body temperature; protects the body; eliminates some wastes; helps make vitamin D; detects sensations such as touch, pressure, pain, warmth, and cold; stores fat and provides insulation

2. Skeletal System - Components: Bones and joints of the body and their associated cartilages Functions: Supports and protects the body, provides a specific area for muscle attachment, assists with body movements, stores cells that produce blood cells, and stores minerals and lipids (fats)

3. Muscular System - Components: Specifically refers to skeletal muscle tissue, which is muscle usually attached to bones (other muscle tissues include smooth and cardiac). Functions: Participates in body movements such as walking; maintains posture; and produces heat

4. Nervous System - Components: Brain, spinal cord, nerves, and special sense organs such as the eyes and ears Functions: Regulates body activities through nerve impulses by detecting changes in the environment, interpreting the changes, and responding to the changes by bringing about muscular contractions or glandular secretions

5. Endrocrine System - Components: All glands and tissues that produce chemical regulators of body functions, called hormones Functions: Regulates body activities through hormones transported by the blood to various target organs

6. Cardiovascular System - Components: Blood, heart, and blood vessels Functions: Heart pumps blood through blood vessels; blood carries oxygen and nutrients to cells and carbon dioxide and wastes away from cells and helps regulate acidity, temperature, and water content of body fluids; blood components help defend against disease and mend damaged blood vessels

7. Lymphatic System and Immunity - Components: Lymphatic fluid (lymph) and lymphatic vessels; spleen, thymus, lymph nodes, and tonsils; cells that carry out immune responses (B cells, T cells, and others) Functions: Returns proteins and fluid to blood; carries lipids from gastrointestinal tract to blood; contains sites of maturation and proliferation of B cells and T cells that protect against disease‐causing microbes

8. Respiratory System - Functions: Returns proteins and fluid to blood; carries lipids from gastrointestinal tract to blood; contains sites of maturation and proliferation of B cells and T cells that protect against disease‐causing microbes
   Functions: Transfers oxygen from inhaled air to blood and carbon dioxide from blood to exhaled air; helps regulate acidity of body fluids; air flowing out of lungs through vocal cords produces sounds

9. Digestive System - Components: Organs of gastrointestinal tract, including the mouth, pharynx (throat), esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, rectum, and anus; also includes accessory digestive organs that assist in digestive processes, such as the salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas
   Functions: Physical and chemical breakdown of food; absorbs nutrients; eliminates solid wastes

10. Urinary System - Components: Kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra
    Functions: Produces, stores, and eliminates urine; eliminates wastes and regulates volume and chemical composition of blood; helps regulate acid–base balance of body fluids; maintains body's mineral balance; helps regulate red blood cell production

11. Reproductive System - Components: Gonads (testes in males and ovaries in females) and associated organs: uterine (fallopian) tubes, uterus, and vagina in females, and epididymis, ductus (vas) deferens, and penis in males; also, mammary glands in females
    Functions: Gonads produce gametes (sperm or oocytes) that unite to form a new organism and release hormones that regulate reproduction and other body processes; associated organs transport and store gametes; mammary glands produce milk

Define “homeostasis” and explain its importance.

Maintenance of internal body conditions within ranges suitable for survival

Ensures that the body's internal environment remains constant despite changes inside and outside the body.

As long as all of the body's controlled conditions remain within certain normal limits, body cells function efficiently, homeostasis is maintained, and the body stays healthy.

Distinguish between “symptoms” and “signs” of a disease.

Symptoms are subjective changes in body functions that are not apparent to an observer, for example, headache, anxiety, or nausea. Signs are objective changes that a clinician can observe and measure, such as bleeding, swelling, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, a rash, or paralysis.

Describe the anatomical position.

In the anatomical position, the subject stands erect facing the observer, with the head level and the eyes facing forward.

Identify the major regions of the body and relate the common names to the corresponding anatomical terms for various parts of the body.

The head consists of the skull and face. The skull is the part of the head that encloses and protects the brain, and the face is the front portion of the head that includes the eyes, nose, mouth, forehead, cheeks, and chin. The neck supports the head and attaches it to the trunk. The trunk consists of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis. Each upper limb is attached to the trunk and consists of the shoulder, armpit, arm (portion of the limb from the shoulder to the elbow), forearm (portion of the limb from the elbow to the wrist), wrist, and hand. Each lower limb is also attached to the trunk and consists of the buttock, thigh (portion of the limb from the hip to the knee), leg (portion of the limb from the knee to the ankle), ankle, and foot. The groin is the area on the front surface of the body, marked by a crease on each side, where the trunk attaches to the thighs.

Define the directional terms and the anatomical planes and sections used to locate parts of the human body.

Directional terms precisely locate various parts of the body in relation to one another.

Superior (soo′‐PĒR‐ē‐or) (cephalic or cranial) Toward the head, or the upper part of a structure The heart is superior to the liver.

Inferior (in′‐FĒR‐ē‐or) (caudal) Away from the head, or the lower part of a structure The stomach is inferior to the lungs.

Anterior (an‐TĒR‐ē‐or) (ventral) Nearer to or at the front of the body The sternum (breastbone) is anterior to heart.

Posterior (pos‐TĒR‐ē‐or) (dorsal) Nearer to or at the back of the body The esophagus (food tube) is posterior to the trachea (windpipe).

Medial (MĒ‐dē‐al) Nearer to the midline, an imaginary vertical line that divides the body into equal right and left sides The ulna is medial to the radius.

Lateral (LAT‐er‐al) Farther from the midline or midsagittal plane The lungs are lateral to the heart.

Intermediate (in′‐ter‐MĒ‐dē‐at) Between two structures The transverse colon is intermediate to the ascending and descending colons.

Ipsilateral (ip‐si‐LAT‐er‐al) On the same side of the body as another structure The gallbladder and ascending colon are ipsilateral.

Contralateral (KON‐tra‐lat‐er‐al) On the opposite side of the body from another structure The ascending and descending colons are contralateral.

Proximal (PROK‐si‐mal) Nearer to the attachment of a limb to the trunk; nearer to the point of origin or the beginning The humerus is proximal to the radius.

Distal (DIS‐tal) Farther from the attachment of a limb to the trunk; farther from the point of origin or the beginning The phalanges are distal to the carpals.

Superficial (soo′‐per‐FISH‐al) (external) Toward or on the surface of the body The ribs are superficial to the lungs.

Deep (DĒP) (internal) Away from the surface of the body The ribs are deep to the skin of the chest and back.

Directional terminology may be applied to

the body in views that utilize sectioning the

body by various planes.

• A frontal plane divides the body into front

and back sides.

• A sagittal plane divides the body into left

and right sides.

o The midsagittal or median plane divides

the body into equal left and right sides

o A parasagittal (or sometimes just

“sagittal”) plane divides the body into

unequal left and right sides

• A transverse or cross plane divides the body

into upper and lower sections.

• Oblique planes are often transverse planes

at an angle to horizontal.

Describe the principal body cavities and the organs they contain.

Spaces in the body that contain, protect, separate, and support internal organs are called body cavities.

1. The cranial cavity contains the brain, and the vertebral canal contains the spinal cord.

2. The thoracic cavity is subdivided into three smaller cavities: a pericardial cavity, which contains the heart, and two pleural cavities, each of which contains a lung.

3. The central portion of the thoracic cavity is the mediastinum. It is located between the lungs and extends from the sternum to the vertebral column and from the neck to the diaphragm. It contains all thoracic organs except the lungs.

4. The abdominopelvic cavity is separated from the thoracic cavity by the diaphragm and is divided into a superior abdominal cavity and an inferior pelvic cavity.

5. Organs in the thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities are called viscera. Viscera of the abdominal cavity include the stomach, spleen, liver, gallbladder, small intestine, and most of the large intestine. Viscera of the pelvic cavity include the urinary bladder, portions of the large intestine, and internal organs of the reproductive system.

Explain why the abdominopelvic cavity is divided into regions and quadrants.

The regions are often used during dissections or

surgeries, whereas the quadrants are commonly used

in charting.

To describe the location of organs easily, the abdominopelvic cavity may be divided into nine abdominopelvic regions by two horizontal and two vertical lines. The names of the nine abdominopelvic regions are right hypochondriac, epigastric, left hypochondriac, right lumbar, umbilical, left lumbar, right inguinal, hypogastric, and left inguinal.

Name and describe the three main parts of a cell.

the plasma membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus.

The plasma or cell membrane is

the outer “shell” of the cell.

(The term cell “wall” is only used in

plants.)

 Two key functions that the plasma

membrane serves is that it:

1. Separates the cell from its

environment.

2. Allows selective passage of

materials in or out of the cell.

CYTOPLASM would refer to all the substances inside of the plasma membrane, except for the nucleus.

 Cytoplasm consists of two major parts – cytosol and organelles (“little organs” such as mitochondria).

The nucleus is often spherical or oval-shaped and is often the largest structure seen inside the cell.

 Nearly every cell has a nucleus. A rare exception would be red blood cells which lack a nucleus. Most cells have

a single nucleus but a few, like skeletal muscle cells have multiple nuclei.

 The nucleus has a nuclear envelope that separates the nucleus from the cytoplasm of the cell. The cytoplasm is

all the materials inside the plasma membrane of the cell aside from the nucleus.

 This envelope is like the plasma membrane of the cell. Substances pass between the nucleus and the cytoplasm

through the nuclear envelope.

Describe the structure and functions of the plasma membrane.

1. The plasma membrane forms a cell's flexible outer surface, separating the cell's internal environment (inside the cell) from its external environment (outside the cell). It regulates the flow of materials into and out of a cell to maintain the appropriate environment for normal cellular activities. The plasma membrane also plays a key role in communication among cells and between cells and their external environment.

Describe the following about processes that transport substances across the plasma membrane: The difference between passive and active transport and describe diffusion and osmosis.

substances move across cellular membranes by passive processes and active processes. Passive processes, in which a substance moves down its concentration gradient through the membrane, using only its own energy of motion (kinetic energy), include simple diffusion and osmosis. In active processes, cellular energy, usually in the form of ATP, is used to “push” the substance through the membrane “uphill” against its concentration gradient. An example is active transport. Another way that some substances may enter and leave cells is an active process in which tiny membrane sacs referred to as vesicles are used.

Diffusion (di‐Fū‐zhun; diffus‐ = spreading) is a passive process in which a substance moves due to its kinetic energy. If a particular substance is present in high concentration in one area and in low concentration in another area, more particles of the substance diffuse from the region of high concentration to the region of low concentration than in the opposite direction.

Osmosis (oz‐MŌ‐sis) is a passive process in which there is a net movement of water through a selectively permeable membrane. Water moves by osmosis from an area of higher water concentration to an area of lower water concentration (or from an area of lower solute concentration to an area of higher solute concentration). Water molecules pass through plasma membranes in two places: through the lipid bilayer and through integral membrane proteins that function as water channels.

Describe the structure and functions of the organelles known as mitochondria.

Organelles are specialized structures inside cells that have characteristic shapes and specific functions. Each type of organelle is a functional compartment where specific processes take place, and each has its own unique set of enzymes.

Because they are the site of most ATP production, the “powerhouses” of a cell are its mitochondria (mī‐tō‐KON‐drē‐a; mito‐ = thread; ‐chondria = granules; singular is mitochondrion).

Function of Mitochondria

Generates ATP through reactions of aerobic cellular respiration.

Describe the structure and functions of the nucleus.

3. The nucleus (NOO‐klē‐us = nut kernel) is the largest organelle of a cell. The nucleus acts as the control center for a cell because it contains the genes, which control cellular structure and most cellular activities.

Describe the difference between mitosis and meiosis as types of cell division.

Somatic cell division or mitosis is the process by which

all cells except gametes (sex cells) reproduce. In

mitosis, one cell divides to produce two identical cells,

each with a full complement of genetic material.

 Gametes (sperm cells and egg cells) undergo a

different type of cell division called meiosis, where the

genetic material of a cell is halved.

Reproductive cell division or meiosis is the process that produces gametes—sperm and oocytes—the cells needed to form the next generation of sexually reproducing organisms.

During mitosis (mī‐TŌ‐sis; mitos = thread), the duplicated chromosomes become exactly segregated, one set into each of two separate nuclei. For convenience, biologists divide the process into four stages: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. However, mitosis is a continuous process, with one stage merging imperceptibly into the next.

Name and compare the four basic types of tissue that make up the human body, and state the characteristics of each.

1. Epithelial tissue (ep‐i‐THĒ‐lē‐al) covers body surfaces; lines body cavities, hollow organs, and ducts (tubes); and forms glands.

2. Connective tissue protects and supports the body and its organs, binds organs together, stores energy reserves as fat, and provides immunity.

3. Muscular tissue generates the physical force needed to make body structures move.

4. Nervous tissue detects changes inside and outside the body and initiates and transmits nerve impulses (action potentials) that coordinate body activities to help maintain homeostasis.