Chapter 1 - Basic Elements of Anatomy

Anatomy

structure of an organism and relationships of their parts

Physiology

function of an organism and its components 

Gross anatomy

studies body parts without a microscope 

Descriptive anatomy

describes indv body parts and relates body parts to functional systems

Developmental anatomy

studies growth and development 

Pathological anatomy

studies change in structure due to disease or developmental disorders

Applied/clinical anatomy

anatomy for diagnosis and treatment 

Cytology

CELL structure and function 

Histology

studies TISSUES with a microscope

Osteology

studies BONE structure 

Arthtology

studies JOINTS

Angiology

studies BLOOD VESSELS and LYMPHATIC SYSTEM

Neurology

studies NERVOUS SYSTEM 

Myology

studies MUSCLE structure and function

Anatomical position

Body erect, arms at side, palms/arms/hands directed forward

Axial skeleton

head and trunk, spinal chord is axis

Appendicular skeleton

upper and lower limbs

Frontal (coronal) plane

divides body into front and back halves

Sagittal plane

divides body into right and left portions

Mid saggital plane

divides in half

Transverse (horizontal) plane

divides body into upper and lower halves

Anterior or ventral

front of body

Posterior or dorsal

back of body

Superficial

on surface of body

Peripheral

towards surface and/or away from center

Deep

direction away from surface

Superior

upper regions of body, towards the head

Inferior

lower regions of body, towards the feet

Prone

body horizontal with with face down

Supine

body horizontal with face up

Lateral vs Medial

towards the side vs towards the center

Proximal

point closest to trunk

Distal

point farthest from the trunk

Nervous Tissues

specialized for sending signals and transferring information, consists of neurons and neuroglial cells (ex: brain to muscles, sensory organs to brain) 

Muscle Tissue

contracts!

skeletal, cardiac, non striated smooth

Skeletal muscle

(voluntary, ex: biceps) 

cardiac muscle

(essential involuntary, like you can get your heart rate up by running but not just by thinking about it, ex: myocardium)

non-striated smooth muscle

(involuntary, intestines pushing food along) 

Epithelial Tissue

covers internal and external surfaces of the body to create boundaries preventing/permitting passage of substances and stopping fluid loss. 

how is epithelial tissue categorized

• # of layers (simple vs stratified) 

• cell shape 

  • Squamous (flat/wide/thin fried eggs) 

  • Cuboidal (box like)

  • Columnar (tall/narrow/column looking) 

• cilia/hair (ciliated vs non-ciliated) 

• keratin (keratinized vs non-keratinized) 

ex: vocal folds (stratified, squamous, non-ciliated, non-keratinized) 

Connective Tissues

mostly intercellular/extracellular matrix that binds together and supports tissues and organs 

Types: 

• Loose fibrous 

• Dense fibrous (binds structures together for structural integrity, can be regular, irregular, or elastic/flexible (ex: fascia, ligaments, tendons) 

• Cartilage: combines some flexibility with fairly rigid structures (ex: hyaline (rings of trachea), fibro-cartilage (meniscus in knee/discs of spine), yellow/elastic cartilage (external ear) 

• Blood 

• Bone

Tendon

attaches muscles to bone or to cartilage not just by surrounding the muscle but also penetrating it, flexible but minimal stretching 

*aponeurosis: broad, flat sheet of tendon that’s similar to fascia but thicker 

Ligaments

binds organs to organs and bone to bone, flexible but little to no ability to stretch

Fascia

sheet-like membrane that provides structural support/protection by surrounding organs, muscles, bones, nerves, blood vessels which also aids in movement

Hyaline cartilage

rings of trachea

Fibro-cartilage

(meniscus in knee/discs of spine) 

Yellow/elastic cartilage

(external ear)