Chapter 1 Flashcards
Define Anatomy
+ dissection
The science of body structures and the relationships among them (=process of cutting)
First studied by dissection (=act of cutting), the careful cutting apart of body structures to study their relationships.
Define Physiology
The study of body functions (=how the body parts work)
The structure of a part of the body often reflects its functions
What are the 6 levels of organization of anatomy and physiology
- Chemical level
- Cellular level
- Tissue level
- Organ level
- System level
- Organismal level
Describe the Chemical level
This very basic level can be compared to letters of the alphabet and includes atoms, the smallest units of matter that participate in chemical reactions, and molecules, two or more atoms joined together
Describe the Cellular Level
Molecules combine to join cells, the basic structural and functional units of an organism that are composed of chemicals. Cells are the smallest living units in the human body.
Describe the Tissue level
Tissues are a group of cells and the materials surrounding them that work together to perform a particular function.
There are 4 basic types of tissues: epithelial tissue, connective tissue, muscular tissue, and nervous tissue.
Describe the Organ level
At the organ level, different types of tissues are joined together.
Organs are structures that are composed of two or more different types of tissues; they have specific functions and usually have recognizable shapes.
Describe the System level
A system consists of related organs with a common function. (organ-system)
Ex: Digestive system
Describe the Organismal Level
An organism is all the parts of the human body functioning together to constitute the total organism.
What are the 6 most important life processes of the human body?
- Metabolism
- Responsiveness
- Movement
- Growth
- Differentiation
- Reproduction
Define metabolism
Is the sum of all chemical processes that occur in the body.
One phase is catabolism, the breakdown of complex chemical substances into simpler components.
The other phase is anabolism, the building up of complex chemical substances from smaller, simpler components.
Define responsiveness
The body’s ability to detect and respond to changes.
Ex: an increase in body temperature during a fever represents a change in the internal environment.
Define movement
Includes motion 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.
Define 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.
Define differentiation
The development of a cell from an unspecialized to a specialized state.
Such 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 cells.
