Med Terms Ch. 2

Anatomical reference systems are used to

describe the locations of the structural units of the body.

anatomical reference systems include

Body planes, Body directions, Body cavities, Structural units

Body planes

imaginary vertical and horizontal lines used to divide the body into sections for descriptive purposes

sagittal plane (SADJ-ih-tal)

a vertical plane that divides the body into unequal left and right portions.

midsagittal plane (mid-SADJ-ih-tal)

also known as the midline, is the sagittal plane that divides the body into equal left and right halves

frontal plane

a vertical plane that divides the body into anterior (front) and posterior (back) portions. Also known as the coronal plane

A transverse plane (trans-VERSE)

a horizontal plane that divides the body into superior (upper) and inferior (lower) portions. A transverse plane can be at the waist or at any other level across the body

Structures of the Body

The cells, tissues, and glands that form the body systems that work together to enable the body to function properly.

Genetics

The genetic components that transfer characteristics from parents to their child.

Tissues

A group of similarly specialized cells that work together to perform specific functions.

Glands

A group of specialized cells that is capable of producing secretions.

Body Systems and Related Organs

Organs are somewhat independent parts of the body that perform specific functions. Organs with related functions are organized into body systems.

Example of body system

digestive system is made up of the organs related to ingesting and processing of food.

Pathology

The study of the nature and cause of disease that involve changes in structure and function.

aden/o

gland

adip/o

fat

anter/o

before, front

caud/o

lower part of the body, tail

cephal/o

head

cyt/o

cell

-cyte

cell

End-

in, within, inside

endo-

in, within, inside

Endo-

in, within, inside

hist/o

tissue

-ologist

specialist

-ology

the science or study of

path/o

disease, suffering, feeling, emotion

-pathy

disease, suffering, feeling, emotion

plas/i, plas/o, -plasia

development, growth, formation

poster/o

behind, toward the back

-Stasis

control, maintenance of a constant level

-static

control, maintenance of a constant level

Anatomy (ah-NAT-oh-mee)

the study of the structures of the body. The adjective anatomical (ah-nah-TOM-ih-kal) means referring to anatomy.

Physiology (fiz-ee-OL-oh-jee)

the study of the functions of the structures of the body (physi means nature or physical, and -ology means study of).

anatomical position

standing up straight so that the body is erect and facing forward; Holding the arms at the sides with the hands turned so that the palms face toward the front.

Cephalic

means toward the head (cephal means head, and -ic means pertaining to)

caudal

means toward the feet (caud means tail or lower part of the body, and -al means pertaining to)

Anterior

means toward the front, and the front of the body is known as the ventral surface; also means on the front or forward part of an organ (anter means front or before, and -ior means pertaining to). For example, the stomach is located anterior to (in front of) the pancreas.

Ventral (VEN-tral)

refers to the front, or belly side, of the organ or body (ventr means belly side of the body, and -al means pertaining to)

Posterior

means toward the back, and the back of the body is known as the dorsal surface. ; also means on the back part of an organ (poster means back or toward the back, and -ior means pertaining to). For example, the pancreas is located posterior to (behind) the stomach

Dorsal (DOR-sal)

refers to the back of the organ or body (dors means back of the body, and -al means pertaining to).

Proximal

means situated nearest the midline

distal

means situated farthest from the midline.

Medial

means toward or nearer the midline

Lateral

means toward the side and away from the midline, Bilateral means relating to, or having, two sides.

Superior

means uppermost, above, or toward the head. For example, the lungs are located superior to (above) the diaphragm

Inferior

means lowermost, below, or toward the feet. For example, the stomach is located inferior to (below) the diaphragm.

The two major body cavities

the dorsal (back) and the ventral (front) cavities, spaces within the body that contain and protect internal organs

Where is the dorsal cavity

along the back of the body and head,

What does the dorsal cavity contain

organs of the nervous system that coordinate body functions

What are the two parts of the dorsal cavity

cranial cavity and spinal cavity

Cranial cavity

located within the skull, surrounds and protects the brain. Cranial means pertaining to the skull

Spinal cavity

located within the spinal column, surrounds and protects the spinal cord.

Where is the ventral cavity located

along the front of the body,

What does the ventral cavity contain

organs that sustain homeostasis

Homeostasis (hoh-mee-oh-STAY-sis)

the processes through which the body maintains a constant internal environment (home/o means constant, and -stasis means control)

What are the parts of the ventral cavity

thoracic cavity, abdominal cavity, pelvic cavity

Thoracic cavity (thoh-RAS-ick)

known as the chest cavity or thorax, surrounds and protects the heart and the lungs.

Diaphragm

a muscle that separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities.

Abdominal cavity (ab-DOM-ih-nal)

contains the major organs of digestion

pelvic cavity (PEL-vick)

the space formed by the hip bones and contains the organs of the reproductive and excretory systems.

abdominopelvic cavity (ab-dom-ih-noh-PEL-vick)

refers to these two cavities as a single unit (abdomin/o means abdomen, pelv means pelvis, and -ic means pertaining to).

inguinal (ING-gwih-nal)

means relating to the groin, refers to the entire lower area of the abdomen, includes the groin,

Groin

the crease at the junction of the trunk with the upper end of the thigh.

right and left hypochondriac regions (high-poh-KON-dree-ack)

covered by the lower ribs (hypo- means below, chondr/i means cartilage, and -ac means pertaining to). As used here, the term hypochondriac means below the ribs

epigastric region (ep-ih-GAS-trick)

located above the stomach (epi- means above, gastr means stomach, and -ic means pertaining to).

right and left lumbar regions (LUM-bar)

located near the inward curve of the spine (lumb means lower back, and -ar means pertaining to). The term lumbar describes the part of the back between the ribs and the pelvis.

Umbilical region (um-BILL-ih-kal)

surrounds the umbilicus (um-BILL-ih-kus), or belly button or navel.

Right and left iliac regions (ILL-ee-ack)

located near the hip bones (ili means hip bone, and -ac means pertaining to).

Hypogastric region (high-poh-GAS-trick)

located below the stomach (hypo- means below, gastr means stomach, and -ic means pertaining to).

peritoneum (pehr-ih-toh-NEE-um)

a multilayered membrane that protects and holds the organs in place within the abdominal cavity

membrane

a thin layer of tissue that covers a surface, lines a cavity, or divides a space or organ.

parietal peritoneum (pah-RYE-eh-tal pehr-ih-toh-NEE-um)

the outer layer of the peritoneum that lines the interior of the abdominal wall.

Parietal

means cavity wall.

mesentery (MESS-en-terr-ee)

a fused double layer of the parietal peritoneum that attaches parts of the intestine to the interior abdominal wall.

visceral peritoneum (VIS-er-al pehr-ih-toh-NEE-um)

inner layer of the peritoneum that surrounds the organs of the abdominal cavity. Visceral means relating to the internal organs.

Retroperitoneal (ret-roh-pehr-ih-toh-NEE-al)

means located behind the peritoneum (retro- means behind, periton means peritoneum, and -eal means pertaining to). For example, the location of the kidneys is retroperitoneal with one on each side of the spinal column.

Peritonitis (pehr-ih-toh-NIGH-tis)

inflammation of the peritoneum.

increasingly larger and more complex structural units

cells, tissues, organs, and body systems

Cytology (sigh-TOL-oh-jee)

the study of the anatomy, physiology, pathology, and chemistry of the cell (cyt means cell, and -ology means study of).

A cytologist (sigh-TOL-oh-jist)

a specialist in the study and analysis of cells (cyt means cell, and -ologist means specialist).

Cell membrane (MEM-brain)

tissue that surrounds and protects the contents of a cell from the external environment (Figure 2.8).

Cytoplasm (SIGH-toh-plazm)

material within the cell membrane that is not part of the nucleus (cyt/o means cell, and -plasm means formative material of cells).

nucleus (NEW-klee-us)

a structure within the cell that controls the activities of the cell, and it helps the cell divide.'

Stem cells

unspecialized cells that are able to renew themselves for long periods of time by cell division, in contrast to other types of cells that have a specialized role and die after a determined life span.

Adult stem cells

known as somatic stem cells, undifferentiated cells found among differentiated cells in a tissue or organ.

Normal primary role of somatic stem cells

to maintain and repair the tissue in which they are found.

Embryo

a developing fetus during its first eight weeks in the womb (embry/o means fertilized ovum, and -nic means pertaining to).

Characteristics of embryonic stem cells

proliferate (grow rapidly) indefinitely in a laboratory; embryonic stem cell transplant does not require as perfect a match between the patient and donor; come from the cord blood found in the umbilical cord and placenta of a newborn infant. Embryonic stem cells from cord blood can be harvested at the time of birth without danger to mother or child.

Hematopoietic tissue

blood forming tissue of the bone marrow.

graft versus host disease

possibility of rejection in stem cell transplant

Genetics

the study of how genes are transferred from parents to their children and the role of genes in health and disease (gene means producing, and -tics means pertaining to).

geneticist (jeh-NET-ih-sist)

A specialist in genetics

genome (JEE-nohm)

the complete set of genetic information of an organism.

chromosome (KROH-moh-sohme)

genetic structure located within the nucleus of each cell, made up of DNA molecules, helps a cell keep a large amount of genetic information neat, organized, and compact.

Somatic

means pertaining to the body in general.

What does the 23 pair of chromosomes determine

the sex of the individual. (XX female; XY male)

How many chromosomes in gametes

23 single chromosomes, female, one of these will be an X chromosome. In a male, one of these will be either an X or a Y chromosome (father determines sex)

Why do erythrocytes not have DNA

they do not have a nucleus.