Animal Bodies and Homeostasis

These flashcards cover key concepts related to animal bodies and homeostasis, focusing on tissue types, functions, and homeostatic mechanisms.

Tissue

An association of specialized cells that have a similar structure and function.

Muscle Tissue

Consists of cells that can shorten or contract, producing body movements and exerting pressure.

Skeletal Muscle

Linked to bones via tendons and is usually under voluntary control.

Smooth Muscle

Surrounds hollow tubes and cavities, contracting to push fluids through tubes, generally involuntary.

Cardiac Muscle

Connected cells that contract and relax in unison, with involuntary control.

Nervous Tissue

Made up of neurons that initiate and conduct electrical signals in the body.

Epithelial Tissue

Covers the body or lines walls of organs, consisting of sheets of densely packed cells that protect and transport.

Connective Tissues

Connect, support, surround, and anchor body structures, including adipose, bone, cartilage, and blood.

Organ System

A group of organs that function together to accomplish a specific task.

Osmosis

The movement of water down its concentration gradient.

Passive Diffusion

Movement of small, uncharged molecules through cells without energy use.

Facilitated Diffusion

The process where surface proteins open channels allowing substances to diffuse more quickly.

Active Transport

The movement of specific molecules against their concentration gradient, requiring energy.

Homeostasis

The process through which animal bodies maintain stable internal conditions.

Conformers

Organisms that match their body parameters to environmental conditions.

Regulators

Organisms that maintain body parameters that may not match external conditions.

Set Point

The normal range for a physiological variable maintained by a homeostatic control system.

Negative Feedback

A physiological response that moves a regulated variable in the opposite direction of a change.

Feedforward Regulation

Body systems prepare for changes in a variable before they occur.

Endotherms

Animals that maintain body temperature via metabolism.

Ectotherms

Animals that rely on environmental conditions and behavior to regulate body temperature.

Heat Exchange

Occurs through radiation, evaporation, conduction, and convection to maintain body temperature.

Countercurrent Exchange

A mechanism that conserves heat by transferring heat between fluids traveling in opposite directions.

Shivering Thermogenesis

Heat produced through rapid contraction of skeletal muscles.