What is Anatomy and Physiology Summary Questions

Use your notes to answer the following questions.  Do not just google the answers.  Many times the internet will give you incorrect answers.  Each is worth 2 points so be thorough and answer each questions completely.  

 

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE HUMAN BODY

 

A proficiency in anatomy and physiology is fundamental to any career in the health professions.

Introduction

After today's lesson, you will be able to:

• Distinguish between anatomy and physiology, and identify several branches of each
• Describe the structure of the body, from simplest to most complex, in terms of the six levels of organization

 

Though you may approach a course in anatomy and physiology strictly as a requirement for your field of study, the knowledge you gain in this course will serve you well in many aspects of your life.

• An understanding of anatomy and physiology is not only fundamental to any career in the health professions, but it can also benefit your own health.
• Familiarity with the human body can help you make healthful choices and prompt you to take appropriate action when signs of illness arise.
• Your knowledge in this field will help you understand news about nutrition, medications, medical devices, and procedures and help you understand genetic or infectious diseases.
• At some point, everyone will have a problem with some aspect of his or her body and your knowledge can help you to be a better parent, spouse, partner, friend, colleague, or caregiver.

 

1.1 | Overview of Anatomy and Physiology

Human anatomy is the scientific study of the body’s structures.

• Some of these structures are very small and can only be observed and analyzed with the assistance of a microscope.
• Other larger structures can readily be seen, manipulated, measured, and weighed.
• The word “anatomy” comes from a Greek root that means “to cut apart.”
  • Human anatomy was first studied by observing the exterior of the body and observing the wounds of soldiers and other injuries.
  • Later, physicians were allowed to dissect bodies of the dead to augment their knowledge.
  • When a body is dissected, its structures are cut apart in order to observe their physical attributes and their relationships to one another.
  • Dissection is still used in medical schools, anatomy courses, and in pathology labs.

 

In order to observe structures in living people, however, a number of imaging techniques have been developed.

• These techniques allow clinicians to visualize structures inside the living body such as a cancerous tumor or a fractured bone.

 

Like most scientific disciplines, anatomy has areas of specialization.

• Gross anatomy is the study of the larger structures of the body, those visible without the aid of magnification.
  • Macro- means “large,” thus, gross anatomy is also referred to as macroscopic anatomy.
• In contrast, micro- means “small,” and microscopic anatomy is the study of structures that can be observed only with the use of a microscope or other magnification devices.
  • Microscopic anatomy includes cytology, the study of cells and histology, the study of tissues.
  • As the technology of microscopes has advanced, anatomists have been able to observe smaller and smaller structures of the body, from slices of large structures like the heart, to the three-dimensional structures of large molecules in the body.

 

 

Gross anatomy considers large structures such as the brain. Microscopic anatomy can deal with the same structures, though at a different scale. This is a micrograph of nerve cells from the brain.

 

Anatomists take two general approaches to the study of the body’s structures: regional and systemic.

• Regional anatomy is the study of the interrelationships of all of the structures in a specific body region, such as the abdomen.
  • Studying regional anatomy helps us appreciate the interrelationships of body structures, such as how muscles, nerves, blood vessels, and other structures work together to serve a particular body region.
• In contrast, systemic anatomy is the study of the structures that make up a discrete body system—that is, a group of structures that work together to perform a unique body function.
  • For example, a systemic anatomical study of the muscular system would consider all of the skeletal muscles of the body.

 

Whereas anatomy is about structure, physiology is about function. Human physiology is the scientific study of the chemistry and physics of the structures of the body and the ways in which they work together to support the functions of life.

• Much of the study of physiology centers on the body’s tendency toward homeostasis.
  • Homeostasis is the state of steady internal conditions maintained by living things.
    • examples of homeostasis could be when you sweat to cool down,  you shiver to warm up, or you store glucose when it is high in the blood
• The study of physiology certainly includes observation, both with the naked eye and with microscopes, as well as manipulations and measurements.
• However, current advances in physiology usually depend on carefully designed laboratory experiments that reveal the functions of the many structures and chemical compounds that make up the human body.

 

Watch this video on HOMEOSTASIS:

Link (Links to an external site.)

 

Like anatomists, physiologists typically specialize in a particular branch of physiology.

• For example, neurophysiology is the study of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves and how these work together to perform functions as complex and diverse as vision, movement, and thinking.
• Physiologists may work from the organ level (exploring, for example, what different parts of the brain do) to the molecular level (such as exploring how an electrochemical signal travels along nerves).

 

Form is closely related to function in all living things.

• For example, the thin flap of your eyelid can snap down to clear away dust particles and almost instantaneously slide back up to allow you to see again.
  • At the microscopic level, the arrangement and function of the nerves and muscles that serve the eyelid allow for its quick action and retreat.
  • At a smaller level of analysis, the function of these nerves and muscles likewise relies on the interactions of specific molecules and ions.
  • Even the three-dimensional structure of certain molecules is essential to their function.

 

Your study of anatomy and physiology will make more sense if you continually relate the form of the structures you are studying to their function.

• In fact, it can be somewhat frustrating to attempt to study anatomy without an understanding of the physiology that a body structure supports.
• Imagine, for example, trying to appreciate the unique arrangement of the bones of the human hand if you had no conception of the function of the hand.
• Fortunately, your understanding of how the human hand manipulates tools—from pens to cell phones—helps you appreciate the unique alignment of the thumb in opposition to the four fingers, making your hand a structure that allows you to pinch and grasp objects and type text messages.

 

1.2 | Structural Organization of the Human Body

Before you begin to study the different structures and functions of the human body, it is helpful to consider its basic architecture; that is, how its smallest parts are assembled into larger structures.

• It is convenient to consider the structures of the body in terms of fundamental levels of organization that increase in complexity: subatomic particles, atoms, molecules, organelles, cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, organisms and biosphere.

 

The Levels of Organization

To study the chemical level of organization, scientists consider the simplest building blocks of matter: subatomic particles, atoms and molecules.

• All matter in the universe is composed of one or more unique pure substances called elements, familiar examples of which are hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, calcium, and iron.
• The smallest unit of any of these pure substances (elements) is an atom.
• Atoms are made up of subatomic particles such as the proton, electron and neutron.
• Two or more atoms combine to form a molecule, such as the water molecules, proteins, and sugars found in living things.
• Molecules are the chemical building blocks of all body structures.

 

A cell is the smallest independently functioning unit of a living organism.

• Even bacteria, which are extremely small, independently-living organisms, have a cellular structure.
• Each bacterium is a single cell.
• All living structures of human anatomy contain cells, and almost all functions of human physiology are performed in cells or are initiated by cells.

 

A human cell typically consists of flexible membranes that enclose cytoplasm, a water-based cellular fluid together with a variety of tiny functioning units called organelles.

• In humans, as in all organisms, cells perform all functions of life.
• A tissue is a group of many similar cells (though sometimes composed of a few related types) that work together to perform a specific function.
• An organ is an anatomically distinct structure of the body composed of two or more tissue types.
• Each organ performs one or more specific physiological functions.
• An organ system is a group of organs that work together to perform major functions or meet physiological needs of the body.

 

The organism level is the highest level of organization.

• An organism is a living being that has a cellular structure and that can independently perform all physiologic functions necessary for life.
• In multicellular organisms, including humans, all cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems of the body work together to maintain the life and health of the organism.

 

Summary of Levels of Organization:

Atom - molecules/compounds - organelles - cells - tissues- organs - organ systems - organism

 

 

This book covers eleven distinct organ systems in the human body.

• Assigning organs to organ systems can be imprecise since organs that “belong” to one system can have functions integral to another system.
• In fact, most organs contribute to more than one system.

Organs that work together are grouped into organ systems.