Anatomy and Physiology Overview

Anatomy and Physiology Overview

• Anatomy is the study of the body's structures.
• Physiology is the study of the chemistry and physics of the body's structures and their functions.
• The word "anatomy" comes from the Greek "ana temnein" which means "to cut apart"
• Gross Anatomy is the study of larger structures visible without magnification.
• Microscopic Anatomy examines structures that require magnification, such as Cytology and Histology.

Standard Anatomical Position

• A person standing erect with their face forward, arms hanging at their sides, and palms facing forward.

Physiology

• Focuses on the body's homeostasis and how it maintains a stable internal environment.
• Employs observation, manipulation, and measurements.
• Homeostasis is a self-regulating process that enables living organisms to maintain internal stability despite external changes.

Importance of Anatomy and Physiology

• Healthcare: Understanding anatomy and physiology is essential for diagnosing and treating diseases.
• Education: Provides a fundamental knowledge base for various health professions.
• Public Health Policy: Informed decisions about health policies based on physiological principles.
• Art and Culture: Influences artistic representations of the human body throughout history.
• Research and Innovation: Advancements in understanding the body lead to new medical technologies and treatments.

Human Life

• Functions include organization, metabolism, responsiveness, movement, development, growth, and reproduction.
• Requirements for survival include oxygen, nutrients (water, macronutrients, micronutrients), a narrow range of temperature, and appropriate pressure (atmospheric and hydrostatic).

Anatomical Terminology

• Directional Terms:

  • Superior (cranial or cephalad): Towards the head or upper part of a structure.
  • Inferior (caudal): Away from the head or towards the lower part of a structure.
  • Anterior (ventral): Towards the front of the body.
  • Posterior (dorsal): Towards the backside of the body.
  • Medial: Towards the midline of the body.
  • Lateral: Away from the midline of the body.
  • Proximal: Close to the origin of a body part or the point of attachment of a limb.
  • Distal: Farther from the origin of a body part or the point of attachment of a limb.
  • Superficial (external): Towards the body surface.
  • Deep (internal): Away from the body surface.

• Body Planes:

  • Sagittal Plane: Divides the body vertically into right and left sides.
  • Frontal Plane (Coronal Plane): Divides the body into anterior (front) and posterior (rear) portions.
  • Transverse Plane: Divides the body horizontally into upper and lower portions.

• Body Cavities:

  • Fluid-filled spaces that hold and protect internal organs.
  • Ventral Cavity: Located at the front of the body, containing the thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities.
  • Dorsal Cavity: Located at the back of the body, including the cranial and spinal cavities.

Functions of Human Life

• Organization: Maintaining distinct internal compartments to protect cells and internal fluids.
• Metabolism: Chemical reactions within cells to transform food into energy, involving both anabolism (building up) and catabolism (breaking down).
• Responsiveness: Ability to adjust to internal and external environmental changes.
• Movement: Includes motion of joints, organs, and even individual cells.
• Development, Growth, and Reproduction:
  • Development: Changes the body undergoes throughout life, including differentiation, growth, and repair.
  • Growth: Increase in body size through increasing the number and size of cells.
  • Reproduction: Formation of new organisms, essential for continuation of life.

Requirements for Human Life

• Oxygen: Essential for chemical reactions that produce energy (ATP), brain damage can occur within 5 minutes without oxygen and death within 10.
• Nutrients: Substances from food and beverages essential for survival.
  • Water: Important for many bodily functions.
  • Energy-yielding and Body-building nutrients (Macronutrients): Provide energy and building blocks for body structures.
  • Micronutrients (vitamins and minerals): Essential for various metabolic processes.
• Narrow Range of Temperature: Chemical reactions in the body depend on a specific temperature range, typically around 37°C, extreme variations can be life-threatening.

Overview of Body Systems

• Integumentary System: (Skin, hair, nails): Protects deeper tissues, waterproofs, regulates temperature, and synthesizes vitamin D.
• Skeletal System: (Bones, cartilage, ligaments, tendons, joints): Provides structural support, protects organs, enables movement, produces blood cells, and stores minerals.
• Muscular System: (Skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscle): Handles movement, posture, and produces body heat.
• Nervous System: (Brain, spinal cord, nerves, sensory receptors): Rapidly responds to internal and external stimuli via electrical signals.
• Endocrine System: (Hormone-producing glands like pituitary, thyroid, pancreas): Secretes hormones that regulate growth, reproduction, metabolism, and many other bodily functions.
• Circulatory System: (Heart, blood vessels, blood): Transports oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and waste products throughout the body.
• Lymphatic System: (Lymph vessels, nodes, spleen, tonsils): Collects excess fluid and returns it to the blood, filters blood, and plays a role in immunity.
• Respiratory System: (Nose, pharynx, trachea, lungs): Gas exchange (oxygen intake, carbon dioxide removal).
• Digestive System: (Mouth, esophagus, stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas): Breaks down food, absorbs nutrients, eliminates waste.
• Urinary System (Kidneys, ureters, bladder, urethra): Filters waste products from blood, regulates water balance, and maintains electrolyte and acid-base balance.
• Reproductive System: (Male: testes, penis; Female: ovaries, uterus, vagina): Produces gametes (sperm and eggs), and sex hormones, responsible for reproduction.

The Language of the Body

• Directional Terms: Used to describe relative positions of body structures in terms of superiority, inferiority, anteriority, posteriority, mediality, laterality, proximality, distality, superficiality, and depth.
• Body Planes:
  • Sagittal (vertical, right and left),
  • Frontal (coronal, anterior and posterior)
  • Transverse (horizontal, upper and lower)
• Body Cavities: Fluid-filled spaces that protect and hold organs.
  • Dorsal Cavity (cranial and spinal)
  • Ventral Cavity (thoracic and abdominopelvic)