Anatomy and Physiology: Integration & Homeostasis

• Human anatomy and physiology is a comprehensive exploration of the structure and function of the human body.
• The course covers topics such as body organization, homeostasis, cellular biology (cytology), and tissue study (histology).
• Examination of the integumentary, skeletal, muscular, neurological, and special sensory systems is included.
• The range of teaching methods which facilitates learning includes laboratory experiments, projects, dissections, textbook readings, models, diagrams, journal entries, and clinical investigations.

Anatomy and Physiology Defined

• Anatomy and physiology are two branches of science that provide the foundation for understanding the body's parts and function.
• Anatomy studies body structures.
• Physiology studies body functions.
• Body structure directly reflects its function.

Branches of Anatomy

• Embryology studies the first eight weeks of development after fertilization of a human egg.
• Developmental biology studies the complete development of an individual from fertilization to death.
• Cell biology studies cellular structure and functions.
• Histology studies microscopic structure of tissues.
• Gross anatomy studies structures that can be examined without a microscope.
• Systemic anatomy studies the structure of specific systems like the nervous or respiratory systems.
• Regional anatomy studies specific regions of the body like the head or chest.
• Surface anatomy studies surface markings to understand internal anatomy through visualization and gentle touch (palpation).
• Imaging anatomy studies body structures with techniques like x-rays, MRI, and CT scans.
• Pathological anatomy studies structural changes (gross to microscopic) associated with disease.

Branches of Physiology

• Neurophysiology studies functional properties of nerve cells.
• Endocrinology studies hormones (chemical regulators in the blood) and how they control body functions.
• Cardiovascular physiology studies functions of the heart and blood vessels.
• Immunology studies the body's defenses against disease-causing agents.
• Respiratory physiology studies functions of the air passageways and lungs.
• Renal physiology studies functions of the kidneys.
• Exercise physiology studies changes in cell and organ functions due to muscular activity.
• Pathophysiology studies functional changes associated with disease and aging.

Levels of Structural Organizations

• Chemical Level: Atoms are the smallest units of matter that participate in chemical reactions (Examples: C, H, O, N, P, Ca, and S).
• Chemical Level: Molecules are two or more atoms joined together, like DNA and glucose.
• Cellular Level: Cells are the basic structural and functional units composed of chemicals (Examples: Muscle cell, Nerve cell, and Epithelial cell).
• Tissue Level: Tissues are groups of cells and materials that work to perform a particular function.
• Four basic types of tissue:
  • Epithelial, Connective, Muscular, and Nervous
• Organ Level: Organs are structures composed of two or more different types of tissues with specific functions (Examples: stomach, skin, bones, heart).
• System Level: A system consists of related organs with a common function, like the digestive system.
• Organismal Level: An organism is any living individual where all body parts function to constitute the total living being.

Body Systems Organization

• Integumentary System Components: Skin, hair, fingernails and toenails, sweat glands, and oil glands.
• Integumentary System Functions: Protects body, regulates temperature, eliminates wastes, helps make vitamin D, and detects sensations such as touch, pain, warmth, and cold.
• Skeletal System Components: Bones and joints of the body.
• Skeletal System Functions: Supports and protects body, provides surface area for muscle attachments, aids body movements, houses cells that produce blood cells, and stores minerals and lipids (fats).
• Muscular System Components: Skeletal muscle tissue-muscle usually attached to bones (other muscle tissues include smooth and cardiac).
• Muscular System Functions: Participates in body movements, maintains posture, and produces heat.
• Nervous System Components: Brain, spinal cord, nerves, and special sense organs such as eyes and ears.
• Nervous System Functions: Generates action potentials (nerve impulses) to regulate body activities, detects changes in the body's internal and external environments, interprets changes, and responds.
• Endocrine System Components: Hormone-producing glands (pineal gland, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, thymus, thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands, pancreas, ovaries, and testes).
• Endocrine System Functions: Regulates body activities by releasing hormones (chemical messengers transported in blood from endocrine gland or tissue to target organ).
• Cardiovascular System Components: Blood, heart, and blood vessels.
• Cardiovascular System Functions: Heart pumps blood through blood vessels; blood carries oxygen and nutrients to cells, removes carbon dioxide and wastes, helps regulate acid-base balance, temperature, and water content of body fluids.
• Lymphatic System and Immunity Components: Lymphatic fluid and vessels; spleen, thymus, lymph nodes, and tonsils; cells that carry out immune responses (B cells, T cells, and others).
• Lymphatic System and Immunity Functions: Returns proteins and fluid to blood; carries lipids from gastrointestinal tract to blood; contains sites of maturation and proliferation of B and T cells for protection.
• Respiratory System Components: Lungs and air passageways: pharynx (throat), larynx (voice box), trachea (windpipe), and bronchial tubes leading into and out of lungs.
• Respiratory System Functions: Transfers oxygen from inhaled air to blood and carbon dioxide from blood to exhaled air; helps regulate acid-base balance of body fluids.
• Digestive System Components: Organs of the gastrointestinal tract which includes the mouth, pharynx (throat), esophagus (food tube), stomach, small and large intestines, and anus; also includes accessory organs.
• Digestive System Functions: Achieves physical and chemical breakdown of food, absorbs nutrients, and eliminates solid wastes.
• Urinary System Components: Kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra.
• Urinary System Functions: Produces, stores, and eliminates urine, eliminates wastes, regulates volume and chemical composition of blood.
• Reproductive Systems Components: Gonads (testes in males and ovaries in females) and associated organs.
• Reproductive Systems Functions: Gonads produce gametes and release hormones that regulate reproduction and other body processes.

Basic Life Processes

• Basic life processes include metabolism, responsiveness, movement, growth, differentiation, and reproduction.
• Metabolism is the sum of all chemical processes in the body.
  • Catabolism breaks large chemicals into smaller ones.
  • Anabolism builds complex chemical substances from smaller components.
• Responsiveness is the body's ability to detect and respond to changes.
• Movement includes motion of the whole body, individual organs, single cells, and structures inside cells.
• Growth is an increase in body size due to an increase in the size of existing cells, a number of cells, or both.
• Differentiation is the development of a cell from an unspecialized to a specialized state.
  • Stem cells are precursor cells that divide and differentiate.
• Reproduction includes the formation of new cells for tissue growth, repair, replacement, and the production of new individuals.

Homeostasis

• Homeostasis is the condition of equilibrium in the body's internal environment.
• Equilibrium happens through the constant multiple regulatory processes interaction.
• Homeostasis in the human body is continually disturbed by external, internal, and psychological stresses.
• A feedback system or feedback loop is a cycle of events that monitors, evaluates, changes, remonitors, and reevaluates.
• Components of Feedback System: Stimulus, Receptor, Control Center, Effector & Response.
• Controlled conditions are monitored variables (e.g., body temperature, blood pressure, blood glucose).
• Stimulus is any disruption that changes a controlled condition.
• The negative feedback system reverses a change in a controlled condition.
• Positive feedback system strengthens or reinforces a change in one of the body's controlled conditions.
• Body fluids are dilute, watery solutions containing dissolved chemicals found inside the cells.
  • Examples include Intracellular fluid, Extracellular fluid, which includes blood plasma, Lymph,Cerebrospinal, Synovial, aqueous humor, vitreous, and interstitial fluid.

Basic Anatomy Terminology

• The anatomical position describes any region or part of the human body in a specific stance.
• The principal regions of the human body are:
  • The Head, Neck, Trunk, Upper Limbs, and Lower Limbs

Anatomy and Physiology: Directional Terms

• Superior (cephalic, cranial): toward the head or upper structure.
• Inferior (caudal): Away from the head or lower part of a structure.
• Anterior (ventral): Nearer to or at the front of the body.
• Posterior (dorsal): Nearer to or the back of the body.
• Medial: Nearer to the midline.
• 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 another structure.
• Proximal: Nearer the the attachment of a limb to the trunk; nearer to the origination of a structure.
• Distal: Farther from the the attachment of a limb to the trunk; farther to the origination of a structure.
• Superficial (external): toward or on the surface of the body.
• Deep (internal): away from the surface of the body.

Anatomy and Physiology: Planes

• Body planes are imaginary flat surfaces that pass through the body parts
• Sagittal plane: A vertical plane that divides the body or an organ into right and left sides.
  • Midsagittal/median plane: Equal right and left.
  • Parasagittal plane: Unequal right and left sides.
• Frontal/coronal plane: Divides the body/organ into anterior and posterior portions.
• Transverse/cross-sectional horizontal plane: Divides into superior and inferior portions.
• Oblique plane: Passes at an angle between transverse and sagittal/frontal planes.
• Section makes a cut of the body, or one of its organs made along of of the planes.

Anatomy and Physiology: Body Cavities

• Body cavities are spaces that help protect, separate, and support internal organs, and include:
  • Cranial cavity
  • Vertebral canal
  • Thoracic cavity
  • Pleural cavity
  • Pericardial cavity
  • Mediastrum,Abdominopelvic cavity
  • Abdominal cavity
  • Pelvic cavity
• Abdominopelvic regions are a method using two horizontal and two vertical lines partitioning cavity.
• Abdominopelvic Quadrants are a method using a vertical line and a horizontal line passed through the belly button.

Explore anatomy and physiology, focusing on structural levels and their functions. Understand how these disciplines integrate. Learn about homeostasis, feedback mechanisms, and the importance of chemical elements.