Chapter 1 Flashcards
What are anatomy and physiology?
Anatomy and Physiology (A & P) are about human structure and function—the biology of the human body
what are the four ways of examining structure of the human body?
- Inspection
- Palpation
- Auscultation
- Percussion
Describe Inspection.
Visual Examination of the body or looking at the body
Describe Palpation.
Feeling the body with fingers or hands
Describe Auscultation.
Listening to sounds, usually with a stethoscope
Describe Percussion.
Producing sounds, usually by tapping on specific areas of the body
What are some ways of studying human anatomy.
- Medical Imaging (Radiology)
- Gross Anatomy
- Histology
- Histopathy
- Cytology
- Ultrastructure
Describe gross anatomy?
Study of structures that can be seen with the naked eye
Describe Histopathology?
Microscopic examination of tissues for signs of disease
Describe Cytology.
Study of structure and function of cells
Describe Ultrastructure
View detail under electron microscope
What are some subdisciplines of Anatomy and Physiology?
- Neurophysiology (physiology of nervous system)
- Endocrinology (physiology of hormones)
- Pathophysiology (mechanisms of disease)
Describe Neurophysiology?
Physiology of nervous system
Describe Endocrinology
Physiology of hormones
Describe Pathophysiology.
Mechanisms of disease
Describe comparative physiology.
Study of different species to learn about body functions (comparing and contrasting)
- Basis for much of our understanding of human physiology and the development of new drugs and medical procedures
What is a Scientific Fact.
Information that can be independently verified
Describe the Law of Nature.
- Generalization about the way matter and energy behave
- Results from inductive reasoning and repeated observations
- Written as verbal statement or mathematical formula
Describe Theory.
An explanatory statement or set of statements derived from facts, laws, and confirmed hypotheses
Who is Charles Darwin?
He is primarily known as the architect of the theory of evolution by natural selection.
Describe Evolution?
Change in genetic composition of population of organisms; Example: development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics
Describe how evolution works.
Through Natural Selection
How does Natural Selection occur?
- Selective pressures
- Adaptations
Describe how Adaptations promote evolution.
Adaptations are inherited features of anatomy and physiology that evolved in response to pressures and that enable organism to succeed; example: better camouflage
Describe how selective pressures promote evolution.
Selection pressures are forces that promote reproductive success of some individuals more than others; example: predators
Considering the hierarchy of complexity of life, which of the following levels is the most complex?
Organisms
Considering the hierarchy of complexity of life, which of the following levels is the least complex?
Subatomic particles
Organism composed of:
Organ systems
Organ systems composed of:
Organs
Organs composed of:
Tissues
Tissues composed of:
Cells
Cells composed of:
Organelles
Organelles composed of:
Molecules
Molecules composed of:
Atoms
Describe reductionism.
States that large, complex systems can be understood by studying their simpler components
Describe Holism.
States that “emergent properties” of the whole organism cannot be predicted from the properties of the separate parts.
What are some ways to characterize life?
- Organization
- Cellular composition
- Metabolism
- Responsiveness
- Movement
- Homeostasis
- Development
- Reproduction
- Evolution
In terms of Metabolism, living things exhibit:
Internal Chemical Reactions
In terms of responsiveness, living things have the ability:
Ability to sense and react to stimuli
(irritability or excitability)
In terms of organization, living things exhibit:
Living things exhibit a higher level of organization than nonliving things
In terms of Cellular composition, living matter is always:
Always compartmentalized into one or more cells
Living things exhibit homeostasis by:
maintaining relatively stable internal
conditions
Living things exhibit development by:
differentiation and growth
Reproduction in living things involves:
Producing copies of themselves; passing
genes to offspring
Evolution in living things involves:
changes in genes
Physiological Variations include:
Sex, age, diet, weight, physical activity, genetics and environment
Describe Homeostasis.
The ability to detect change, activate mechanisms that oppose it, and thereby maintain relatively stable internal conditions
Negative feedback allows for:
Allows for dynamic equilibrium within a limited range around a set point. (The body senses a change and “negates” or reverses it)
Loss of homeostatic control causes
illness or death
Because feedback mechanisms alter the original changes that triggered them, they are called:
Feedback loops
Homeostasis in body temperature: If too warm:
Vessels dilate in the skin and sweating begins (heat-losing mechanism)
Homeostasis in body temperature: If too cold:
Vessels in the skin constrict and shivering begins (heat-gaining mechanism)
Negative feedback and Homeostasis involves a receptor, Integrating (control) center, Effector. Describe the receptor.
The receptor is a structure that senses change in the body (e.g., stretch receptors above heart that monitor blood pressure)
Negative feedback and Homeostasis involves a receptor, Integrating (control) center, Effector. describe the integrating (control center)
Integrating (control) center is the control center that processes
the sensory information, “makes a decision,” and directs the
response (e.g., cardiac center of the brain)
Negative feedback and Homeostasis involves a receptor, Integrating (control) center, Effector. describe the Effector
Effector is the cell or organ that carries out the final corrective
action to restore homeostasis (e.g., the heart)
Describe Postive Feedback.
It is a self-amplifying cycle. Leads to greater change in the same direction.
For positive feedback, Feedback loop is:
repeated—change produces more
change
What are some examples of life events that involve positive feedback?
Examples include: childbirth, blood clotting, protein
digestion, and generation of nerve signals
Define Gradient
It is a difference in chemical concentration, charge,
temperature, or pressure between two points
Positive feedback, can be dangerous. Examples will be:
Vicious circle of runaway fever
Matter and energy tend to flow :
down gradients
Movement in the opposite direction is “up the gradient”
and requires spending:
metabolic energy
Who is the “Father of medicine”?
Hippocrates
What did Aristotle believe?
- Believed diseases had supernatural or physical causes.
- Believed complex structures were built from simpler parts
What did Robert Hooke contribute to modern medicine?
- Made many improvements to compound microscope—two
lenses: ocular lens (eyepiece) and objective lens (near
specimen) - Published first comprehensive book of microscopy
(Micrographia) in 1665
What was Antony van Leeuwenhoek contribution to modern medicine?
- Invented a simple (single-lens) microscope with great
magnification to look at fabrics (200X) - Published his observations of blood, lake water, sperm,
bacteria from tooth scrapings, and many other things
