Week 1 & 2: Anatomy and Physiology

It’s been a few years since I took Anatomy and Physiology... I think it was high school, 2010-2011? Ms. Hazer, she was a phenomenal teacher… I only wish I had taken it all a little more seriously now! I made pretty decent grades and was on the Honor Roll, but I probably could've been one of those “straight Aer's,” if I had really applied myself a little more. Well, anyways, I guess that's life.

Here's what I learned this week:

Anatomy and Physiology - The study of the human body structure, and how the body functions

Anatomy is the structure of the (human) body

Physiology is the functions and mechanisms of the body

SOME TYPES OF ANATOMY

Systematic Anatomy - Structure of specific systems of the body; such as the nervous or respiratory

Regional Anatomy - Specific regions such as the head or chest

Surface Anatomy - Surface markings of the body to understand internal anatomy through visualization and palpation

Imaging Anatomy - Internal body structures that can be visualized with X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and other tech. for clinical analysis and medical intervention

Pathological Anatomy - Structural changes (from gross to microscopic) that are associated with disease

Molecular Physiology - Functions of individual molecules such as proteins and DNA

Neurophysiology - Functional properties of nerve cells

Endocrinology - Hormones (chemical regulators in the blood) and how they control body functions

Cardiovascular Physiology - Functions of the heart and blood vessels

Anatomy vs. Physiology: The study of body structure, opposed to how the body parts function

LEVELS OF STRUCTURAL ORGANIZATION

First Level: The Chemical Level (Atoms)

Second Level: The Cellular Level (Smooth muscle cell)

Third Level: The Tissue Level (Smooth muscle tissue)

Fourth Level: The Organ Level

Fifth Level: The System Level

- The body is composed of 96% of the elements "COHN" - Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen, and Nitrogen

ELEVEN BODY SYSTEMS

1) The Integumentary System

The hair, nails, sweat glands, and oil glands

Functions: Protects the body, helps regulate body temperature, eliminates some wastes, helps make vitamin D, detects sensations such as touch, pain, warmth, and cold, it stores fat and provides insulation in the cold

2) The Skeletal System

Bones, joints, and cartilages

Functions: Supports and protects the body, provides surface area for muscle attachments, aids body movements, houses cells that produce blood cells, stores minerals and lipids (fats)

3) The Nervous System

Brain, spinal cord, nerves, and special sense organs, including the eyes and ears

Functions: Generates action potentials (nerve impulses) to regular body activities, detects changes in the body's internal and external environments, interprets changes, and responds by causing muscular contractions or glandular (gland) secretions

4) The Muscular System

Skeletal muscle tissue - or, muscle that is usually attached to the bones (other muscle tissues include smooth and cardiac)

Functions: Participates in body movements (such as walking), maintains posture, produces heat

5) The Cardiovascular System

The heart, blood, and blood vessels

Functions: Heart pumps blood through blood vessels, blood carries oxygen and nutrients to cells, carbon dioxide and wastes away from the cells, helps regular acid-base balance and temperature and water the water content of fluids; blood components help defend against disease and to repair damaged blood vessels

6) The Endocrine System

Hormone-producing glands (the pineal gland, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, thymus, thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands, pancreas, ovaries, and testes); and hormone-producing cells in several other organs

Functions: Regulates body activities by releasing hormones (the chemical messengers transported in the blood from endocrine glands or tissues, to the target organ)

7) The Lymphatic System and Immunity

Lymphatic fluid and vessels; the spleen, thymus, lymph nodes, and tonsils; cells that carry out immune responses (B cells, T cells, and others)

Functions: Returns proteins and fluid to blood, carries lipids from gastrointestinal tract to blood, contains sites of maturation and proliferation of B cells and T cells that protect against disease-causing microbes

8) The Respiratory System

Lungs and air passageways such as the pharynx (throat), larynx (voice box), trachea (windpipe), and bronchial tubes, leading into and out of the lungs

Functions: Transfers oxygen from inhaled air to blood and carbon dioxide from blood to exhaled air, helps regulate acid-base balance of body fluid, air flowing out of lungs through vocal cords produces sounds

9) The Digestive System

Organs of the gastrointestinal tract -- a long tube that includes the mouth, pharynx, esophagus (food tube), stomach, small and large intestines, and anus; also includes accessory organs that assist in digestive processes, such as salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas

Functions: Achieves physical and chemical breakdown of food, absorbs nutrients, eliminates solid wastes

10) The Urinary System

Kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra Functions: Produces, stores, and eliminates urine, eliminates wastes and regulates volume and chemical composition of blood, helps maintain the acid-base balance of body fluids, maintains body's mineral balance, helps regulate production of red blood cells

11) The Reproductive System

Gonads (testes in males and ovaries in females) and associated organs such as the uterine tubes (fallopian tubes), uterus, vagina, and mammary glands; epididymis, ductus or (vas) deferens, seminal vesicles, prostate, and penis

Functions: Gonads produce gametes (sperm or oocytes) that unite to form a new organism, release hormones that regulate reproduction and other body processes; associated organs transport and store gametes; mammary glands produce milk

Interesting Characteristics

- All living things have certain characteristics that distinguish them from nonliving things

- Life processes in humans include metabolism, responsiveness, movement, growth, differentiation, and reproduction (life)

- Homeostasis is a condition of equilibrium (balance) in the body's internal environment

Catabolism ("C" for Crush) is to "Break Down"

Anabolism ("A" for Assemble) is to "Build Up" 

BODY FLUIDS AND HOMEOSTASIS

The survival of our body is dependent upon the precise regulation of the chemical composition of the surrounding extracellular fluid.

[Includes a photo of the body cells in their internal environment, with Interstitial fluid and Blood Plasma surrounding, and Oxygen leaving the blood to the body cells, as well as nutrients from the Digestive System; the body cells transport Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogenous wastes back into the bloodstream; the wastes leave through the urinary system, the CO2 through the lungs]

BASIC COMPONENTS OF FEEDBACK LOOP

A Stimulus disrupts the homeostasis by increasing or decreasing a Controlled Condition, that is monitored by Receptors.

These Receptors send (input) nerve impulses to a Control Center, which in turn (outputs) provides nerve impulses to Effectors, which bring about a change or Response.

The Response alters the controlled condition, until the body returns to homeostasis.

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A NEGATIVE FEEDBACK LOOP

Blood Pressure increases as a Stimulus, to disrupt homeostasis; this is received by Receptors (or, Baroreceptors in certain blood vessels) that send nerve impulses (inputs) to the Control Center (brain), that outputs nerve impulses to the Effector the Heart, and tells the blood vessels to widen, in order of the pressure to decrease... the body returns to normal when the blood pressure has lowered

A POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOP

Contractions of the wall of the uterus force the baby's head or body into the cervix, Stimulating the Condition of the cervix stretching; Receptors, or stretch-sensitive nerve cells in the cervix, input nerve impulses to the Control Center (Brain), and the brain outputs oxytocin, which makes the Effector of the uterus walls constrict more forcefully, creating the response of the baby leaving the body... in this case, increased stretching of the cervix causes the release of more oxytocin, which results in more stretching of the cervix. It is the when the birth of the baby is complete, that the positive feedback cycle is broken.

HOMEOSTASIS....

• When disrupted, it can result in disease, disorder, or even death
• Factors such as your genetic make-up, the air you breathe, the food you eat, and the thoughts you think, can all affect your health

THE SIX MOST IMPORTANT LIFE PROCESSES OF THE HUMAN BODY:

1.Metabolism - the sum of all chemical processes that occur in the body

Catabolism - the breakdown of complex chemical substances into simpler components. to use for something else

Anabolism - the building up of complex chemical substances from smaller, simpler components

Ex: Digestive processes catabolize (split) proteins in food into amino acids. These amino acids are then used to anabolize (build) new proteins that make up body structures such as muscles and bones.

2.Responsiveness - the body’s ability to detect and respond to changes 

Ex: Increase in body temperature during a fever (response to internal), turning your head toward the sound of squealing brakes (response to external)

3.Movement - motions of the whole body, individual organs, single cells, and even tiny structures inside cells

Ex: The coordinated action of leg muscles moves your whole body from one place to another when you walk or run. When a body tissue is damaged or infected, certain white blood cells "move" from the bloodstream into the affected tissue to help clean up and repair the area. Inside the cell, various parts, such as secretory vesicles "move" from one position to another to carry out their functions.

4.Growth - an increase in body size that results from an increase in the size of existing cells, an increase in the number of cells, or both

Ex: Tissue that sometimes increases in size because the amount of material between cells increases. Or in a growing bone, mineral deposits accumulate between bone cells, causing the bone to grow in length and width.

5.Differentiation - the development of a cell from an unspecialized to a specialized state. 

Precursor cells, which can divide and give rise to cells that undergo differentiation, are known as stem cells. 

Each type of cell in the body has a specialized structure or function that differs from that of its precursor (ancestor) cells. 

Ex: Red blood cells and several types of white blood cells arise from the same unspecialized precursor cells in red bone marrow. Also through differentiation, a single fertilized human egg develops into an embryo, and then into a fetus, an infant, a child, and finally an adult.

6.Reproduction - the formation of new cells for tissue growth, repair, or replacement, or the production of a new individual. 

The formation of new cells occurs through cell division

Ex: The production of a new individual occurs through the fertilization of an ovum by a sperm cell to form a zygote, followed by repeated cell divisions and the differentiation of these cells.

TYPES OF ANATOMICAL TERMINOLOGY

Body Positions

    - Names given to specific regions of the body for reference

Regional Names

    - Names given to specific regions of the body for reference

Directional Terms

    - Used to precisely locate one part of the body relative to another

Planes and Sections

    - Planes are imaginary flat surfaces used to divide the body

Body Cavities

    - Spaces within the body that help protect separate, and support the internal organs

The Anatomical Position is a standardized method of observing or imaging the body that allows precise and consistent anatomical reference I.e., Person stands erect, facing the observer, the upper extremities are places at the sides, the palms of the hands are turned forward, and the feet are flat on the floor

Regional Names are names given to specific regions of the body for reference.

Example:

In the Anterior “Front” View

Frontal - Forehead

Temporal - Temple

Orbital or Ocular - Eye

Otic - Ear

Buccal - Cheek

Nasal - Nose

Oral - Mouth

Mental - Chin

Sternal - Breastbone

Mammary - Breast

Umbilical - Navel (Bellybutton)

Coxal - Hip

Inguinal - Groin

Pollex - Thumb

Manual - Hand

Pubic - Pubis

Dorsum - Top of Foot

Hallux - Big toe

Pedal - Foot (Includes Tarsal and Digital)

Tarsal - Angle

Digital/Phalangeal - Toes

Crural - Leg

Patellar - Anterior surface of the knee

Femoral - Thigh

Digital/Phalangeal - Fingers

Palmar/Volar - Palm

Carpal - Wrist

Antebrachial - Forearm

Antecubital - Front of elbow

Brachial - Arm

Axillary - Armpit

Cervical - Neck

Cephalic - Composed of Cranial and Facial

Cranial - Skull

Facial - Face

In the Posterior (Back) View

Occipital - Base of Skull

Scapular - Shoulder blade

Vertebral - Spinal column

Olecranal/Cubital - Back of elbow

Sacral - Between the hips

Gluteal - Buttocks

Perineal - Region of anus and external genitals

Popliteal - Hollow behind knee

Sural - Calf

Plantar - Sole of Foot

Calcaneal - Heel

Dorsum - Back of the Hand

[Include photo here]

Directional Terms are terms used to precisely locate one part of the body relative to another.

Superior - Towards the head, or the upper part of a structure

Inferior - Away from the head, or the lower part of the structure

Anterior - Nearer or at the front of the body

Posterior - Nearer or at the back of the body

Medial - Near to the midline (an imaginary vertical line that divides the body into equal right and left sides)

Lateral - Farther from the midline

Intermediate - Between two structures

Ipsilateral - On the same side of the body as another structure

Contralateral - On the opposite side of the body from anther structure

Proximal - Nearer to the attachment of a limb to the trunk; nearer to the origination of a structure

Distal - Father from the attachment of a limb to the trunk; farther from the origination of a structure

Superficial (External) - Toward or on the surface of the body

Deep (Internal) - Away from the surface of the body

Example:

"The heart is superior to the liver"

"The stomach is inferior to the lungs"

"The sternum (breastbone) is anterior to the heart"

"The esophagus is posterior to the trachea (windpipe)"

"The ulna is medial to the radius"

"The lungs are lateral to heart"

"The transverse colon is intermediate to the ascending and descending colons"

"The gallbladder and ascending colon are ipsilateral"

"The ascending and descending colons are contralateral"

"The humerus (arm bone) is proximal to the radius"

"The phalanges (finger bones) are distal to the carpals (wrist bones)"

"The ribs are superficial to the lungs"

"The ribs are deep to the skin of the chest and back"

Planes and Sections are imaginary flat surfaces used to divide the body.

Example:

Frontal Plane - Cuts the body into front and back halves

Parasagittal Plane - Cut that is off-center that separates the left of the specimen from the right in unequal portions

(Mid) Sagittal Plane - Divides the body into right and left parts

Transverse (or Axial) Plane - divides the body into superior and inferior parts

Oblique Plane - Any type of angle other than a horizontal or vertical angle

(*Note that the word “oblique” means “something is not parallel” or a right angle)

Body Cavities are spaces within the body that help protect separate and support the internal organs.

Example:

Cranial Cavity - Formed by cranial bones and contain the brain

Vertebral Canal - Formed by the vertebral column and contains the spinal cord and the beginnings of spinal nerves

Thoracic Cavity - Chest cavity, contains pleural and pericardial cavities and the mediastinum

Pleural Cavity - A potential space between the layers of the pleura that surrounds a lung

Pericardial Cavity - A potential space between the layers of the pericardium that surrounds the heart

Mediastinum - Central portion of the thoracic cavity between the lungs, extends from the sternum to the vertebral column and from first rib to diaphragm, contains the heart, thymus, esophagus, trachea, and several large blood vessels

Abdominopelvic Cavity - The subdivision of the Abdominal and Pelvic Cavities

Abdominal Cavity - Contains the stomach, spleen, liver, gallbladder, small intestine, and most of the large intestine; the serous membrane of the abdominal cavity is the peritoneum

Pelvic Cavity - Contains urinary bladder, portions of large intestine, and internal organs of reproduction

Within the Cavities...

Serous Membranes are thin, double-layers membranes that cover the viscera within the thoracic and abdominal cavities and also line the walls of the thorax and the abdomen (see visceral and parietal layers)... the Serous Membranes reduce friction

Mediastinum - Area between lungs (contains the heart, aorta, venae cavae, esophagus, and trachea) Pleura includes the Right Pleural Cavity, the Parietal Pleura, and the Visceral Pleura

Right Pleural Cavity - Surrounds right lung in the thoracic cavity

Parietal Pleura - Lines the thoracic cavity

Visceral Pleura - the inner layer of pleura that surrounds each lung

Diaphragm - Large, flat muscle at the bottom of the chest cavity that helps with breathing

Pericardium - Includes the Parietal Pericardium, Pericardial Cavity, Visceral Pericardium (Membrane sorrounding the heart)

Parietal Pericardium - Outer layer of the pericardium

Pericardial Cavity - Contains the heart

Visceral Pericardium - Covers the heart

Left Pleural Cavity -Surrounds left lung in the thoracic cavity

[Includes picture of Serous Membranes in the Thoracic Cavity]

The peritoneum covers many of the abdominal organs

Retroperitoneal - the classification some organs are given because they are not surrounded by the peritoneum; rather, they are posterior to it (behind)

The abdominal cavity can be divided into regions or quadrants to easily describe the location of organs [picture]

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AGING AND HOMEOSTASIS

Aging is a normal process characterized by a progressive decline in the body's ability to restore homeostasis (more to come!)

MEDICAL IMAGING

Medical imaging involves techniques that allow physicians to view images of the human body; This allows physicians to diagnose anatomical and physiological abnormalities

Types include:

• MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• CT (Computed Tomography)
• Radiography
• Ultrasound Scanning
• CCTA
• PET Scans
• Endoscopy

Photo credit goes to https://unsplash.com/photos/tqw3QPsVQds?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink