Anatomy and Physiology Overview

Anatomy and Physiology

• Anatomy: The study of structure
• Physiology: The study of function
• These approaches are complementary and inseparable, forming the basis of health sciences.

Early Philosophers

• Aristotle was an early philosopher who wrote about anatomy and physiology.
• He believed diseases and natural events could have supernatural causes (theology).

The Organism

• An organism is a complete, single individual.
• An organ system is a group of organs working together (e.g., circulation, respiration, digestion). Humans have 11 organ systems.

Organs

• An organ is a structure of tissue types working together for a specific function.
• The skin is the largest organ, composed of smaller organs like hair, nails, glands, nerves and blood vessels.
• A single organ can belong to multiple organ systems.

Tissues

• A tissue is a group of similar cells and their products forming a discrete region of an organ, with a specific function.
• The body has four primary tissue types: epithelial, connective, nervous, and muscular.

Cells

• Cells are the basic functional units of life in an organism, carrying out all basic life functions.
• A cell is bound by a plasma membrane (lipids and proteins), and typically contains a nucleus.
• Cytology is the study of cells and organelles.

Cell Shapes

• Cells come in various shapes: squamous (flat), cuboidal (square), columnar (long), stellate (star-like), and spheroidal (round/oval).

Organelles

• Organelles are parts of cells with specific functions (e.g., mitochondria, centrioles, lysosomes).
• Molecules (at least 2 atoms), including macromolecules like protein, fat and DNA, construct organelles.

Cell Components

• The cell has components like the plasma membrane, cytoplasm, cytoskeleton, organelles (including nucleus), and inclusions (cytosol).

Cellular Genetic Material

• DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) stores long-term information in the cell.
• Cells use DNA to encode biological information.

Cell Nucleus

• The nucleus is the cell's control center containing chromosomes, DNA replication, and RNA synthesis occurs within.

Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER)

• The ER is a transport network for molecules within the cell.
• Two types: rough (RER with ribosomes, for protein synthesis) and smooth (SER without ribosomes, for other functions).

Golgi Apparatus

• The Golgi apparatus processes and packages macromolecules (proteins and lipids) produced by the cell.

Mitochondria

• Mitochondria generate energy for the cell via oxidative phosphorylation.

Lysosomes

• Lysosomes are organelles containing digestive enzymes. They digest waste, excess, or damaged cell parts.

Centrosomes

• Centrosomes organize the cytoskeleton and are essential for cell division. They contain centrioles.

Vacuoles

• Vacuoles store waste products and other cellular materials.

Ribosomes

• Ribosomes are responsible for protein synthesis. They consist of two subunits using RNA brought from nucleus.