Human Organism - Week 1 Module 1

Human Organism - Week 1 Module 1

• The study aims to teach classroom rules and regulations; define anatomy and physiology, and the significance of structural and functional organization of the human body; enumerate and define the role of the eleven organ systems; list and define characteristics of life; explain homeostasis and mechanisms within the human body; describe organ systems and identify anatomical parts; define anatomical position and directional terms; name major planes and trunk cavities; and define serous membranes.

Definitions of Terms

• Anatomy: The study of the structures of the body.
• Physiology: The study of the processes and functions of the body.

Levels of Organization

• Atom – Molecule – Macromolecule – Organelle – Cell – Tissue – Organ – Organ System – Organism

11 Organ Systems

• Integumentary: Provides protection, regulates temperature, prevents water loss, and produces vitamin D.
• Skeletal: Provides protection and support; allows body movements; produces blood cells; and stores mineral and adipose tissue.
• Muscular: Produces body movements, maintains posture, and produces body heat.
• Nervous: Major regulatory system; detects sensations; controls movements, physiological processes, and intellectual functions.
• Endocrine: Major regulatory system influencing metabolism, growth, and reproduction.
• Cardiovascular: Transports nutrients, waste products, gases, and hormones throughout the body, playing a role in the immune response and regulation of body temperature.
• Lymphatic: Removes foreign substances from blood and lymph; combats disease; maintains tissue fluid balance; absorbs dietary fats from the digestive tract
• Respiratory: Exchanges oxygen and carbon dioxide between blood and air; regulates blood pH.
• Digestive: Performs mechanical and chemical processes of digestion; absorbs nutrients; and eliminates wastes.
• Urinary: Removes waste products from the blood; regulates blood pH, ion balance, and water balance.
• Reproductive: Produces oocytes for females and sperm for males; produces hormones influencing sexual functions and behaviors.

Characteristics of Life

• Organization: A specific relationship between the parts of an organism.
• Metabolism: The ability to use energy to perform functions like growth, movement, and reproduction.
• Responsiveness: The ability to sense environmental changes and adjust to maintain life.
• Growth: Increase in size of all or part of an organism.
• Development: Changes an organism undergoes through time.
• Reproduction: Formation of new cells or new organisms.

Homeostasis

• The condition where body functions and internal environment factors are maintained within a suitable range for life.
• Negative Feedback Mechanisms: Regulate most body systems by reducing deviations from set points. Temperature regulation is an example.
• Positive Feedback Mechanisms: When the initial stimulus further stimulates the response and continues the cycle. Examples include blood clotting and childbirth.

Anatomical Position and Directional Terms

• Anatomical Position: Person standing upright, face forward, upper limbs hanging to the sides, palms facing forward.
• Directional terms: Always relate to the anatomical position, regardless of the body's actual position, such as right, left, superior, inferior, anterior, posterior, proximal, distal, medial, lateral, superficial, and deep.

Planes of the Body

• Sagittal Plane: Divides the body into right and left portions.
• Median Plane: A specific sagittal plane passing through the midline of the body, dividing it into equal halves.
• Transverse/Horizontal Plane: Divides body into superior and inferior portions; parallel to the ground.
• Frontal/Coronal Plane: Divides the body into anterior and posterior portions; runs vertically.

Trunk Cavities

• Thoracic Cavity: Surrounded by the rib cage; separated from the abdominal cavity by the diaphragm.
• Abdominal Cavity: Bounded by abdominal muscles; contains stomach, intestines, liver, spleen, pancreas, and kidneys.
• Pelvic Cavity: Enclosed by pelvic bones; contains the urinary bladder, part of the intestines, and reproductive organs.

Serous Membranes

• Serous Membrane: Covers walls and organs in cavities.
• Parietal Layer: Lines the walls of the body cavity.
• Visceral Layer: Covers organs.
• Serous Space/Fluid: Between parietal and visceral layers.
• Pleura: Surrounds the lungs.
• Pericardium: Surrounds the heart.
• Peritoneum: Surrounds organs in the abdominopelvic cavity.