Human Anatomy and Physiology MCAS Review

Flashcards for MCAS review of human anatomy and physiology.

What is the role of the muscular/skeletal system?

Supports the body and allows for movement; Bones produce blood cells.

What do bones protect?

Internal organs like the lungs, heart, and brain.

Where are blood cells produced?

Bone marrow (found in the center of large bones).

What minerals do bones store?

Especially Ca2+ (calcium ions).

What is the function of cartilage?

Acts as a cushion between bones and forms your ears and nose.

What do ligaments connect?

Bone to bone.

What do tendons connect?

Muscle to bone.

What are the three types of muscle?

Skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle.

Is skeletal muscle voluntary or involuntary?

Voluntary (you can control it with motor neurons).

Where is cardiac muscle found?

Only in the heart.

Is cardiac muscle voluntary or involuntary?

Involuntary (you cannot control it).

Is smooth muscle voluntary or involuntary?

Involuntary and weak.

Where is smooth muscle found?

In certain moving organs like your intestines and in the walls of blood vessels.

What is the role of the circulatory system?

Transports nutrients and oxygen and removes cell wastes.

What does blood transport?

Beneficial compounds, like oxygen and food, to the cells and removes waste products, like nitrogenous wastes in carbon dioxide.

List the 3 main types of blood cells?

Red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets

What protein do red blood cells use to carry oxygen?

Hemoglobin (which contains iron).

What is the role of white blood cells?

they are a part of your immune system and defend the body from pathogens (foreign invaders like viruses and bacteria).

What is the function of platelets?

Small fragments of cells that clot blood in wounds.

List the 3 types of blood vessels:

Arteries, capillaries, and veins.

What blood vessels carry blood away from the heart?

Arteries.

Where does the diffusion of nutrients, oxygen, nitrogenous wastes and carbon dioxide occur?

Capillaries.

What blood vessels contain valves to prevent backflow?

Veins.

What is the role of the respiratory system?

To supply the body with high amounts of oxygen (O2) and remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the body.

What pathway does air take when entering the body?

Mouth or nose, travels down the pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi and finally into the lungs.

What are alveoli?

Small hollow balloon-like structures where gas exchange occurs with the bloodstream.

What is the role of digestive system?

To mechanically digest food, to chemically digest food, and then to absorb or actively transport the monomers into the blood for use throughout the body.

Where does mechanical digestion start?

In the mouth, with chewing.

What is the function of the liver in digestion?

Via the gall bladder it adds bile, which is a soap-like material that mechanically breaks down lipids. Also neutralizes the nutrients from the food.

What is the function of the small intestine?

Biomolecules are absorbed into the blood through little finger-like projections called villi and microvilli.

What is the function of the large intestine?

Reclaims liters of water.

What is the function of kidneys?

Filter toxic chemicals from the blood and then remove them from the body. Also play an important role and maintaining the correct amount of water in your blood and body.

What is the role of the nervous system?

To provide fast communication about stimuli from outside the body and allow quick responses (like movement) to that information.

What is the basic structural unit of the nervous system?

The neuron (a nerve cell).

What are the three types of neurons?

Sensory neurons, interneurons, motor neurons.

What do sensory neurons do?

Sense different conditions (e.g., pain, light, or pressure).

What do interneurons do?

Interpret stimuli and decide how to respond to them

What do motor neurons do?

Control skeletal muscles and allow precise movement.

What are the parts of the brain?

Cerebrum, cerebellum, and medulla/brainstem

What is the role of endocrine system?

Allows one part of your body to communicate, and sometimes control, another.

What are hormones?

Chemical messengers that travel in the bloodstream and trigger specific responses in target cells.

What is homeostasis?

The maintenance of a constant internal environment regardless of changes in the external environment.