Chapter 1: The Human Body Flashcards
Studies the structure of body parts and their relationships to one another.
Anatomy
Concerns the function of the body, in other words, how the body parts work and carry out their life-sustaining activities.
Physiology
The study of large body structures visible to the naked eye, such as the heart, lungs, and kidneys.
Macroscopic anatomy
All the structures (muscles, bones, blood vessels, nerves, etc.) in a particular region of the body, such as the abdomen or leg, are examined at the same time.
Regional anatomy
Body structure is studied system by system. For example, when studying the cardiovascular system, you would examine the heart and the blood vessels of the entire body.
Systemic anatomy
The study of internal structures as they relate to the overlying skin surface.
Surface anatomy
Deals with structures too small to be seen with the naked eye.
Microscopic anatomy
The study of the cells of the body
Cytology
The study of tissues
Histology
Traces structural changes that occur in the body throughout the life span.
Developmental anatomy
A subdivision of developmental anatomy, concerns developmental changes that occur before birth.
Embryology
Studies structural changes caused by disease.
Pathological anatomy
Studies internal structures as visualized by X-ray images or specialized scanning procedures.
Radiographic anatomy
Feeling organs with your hands
Palpation
Listening to organ sounds with a stethoscope
Auscultation
Concerns kidney function and urine production
Renal physiology
Explains the workings of the nervous system
Neurophysiology
Examines the operation of the heart and blood vessels
Cardiovascular physiology
What a structure can do depends on its specific form
Principle of complementarity of structure and function
The simplest level of the structural hierarchy. At this level, atoms. tiny building blocks of matter, combine to form molecules such as water and proteins.
Chemical level
All cells have some common functions, but individual cells vary widely in size and shape, reflecting their unique functions in the body
Cellular level
Tissues are groups of similar cells that have a common function.
Tissue level
Extremely complex functions become possible.
Organ level
Organs that work together to accomplish a common purpose
Organ system level
Represents the sum total of all structural levels working together to keep us alive
Organismal level
Includes the activities promoted by the muscular system, such as propelling ourselves from one place to another by running or swimming, and manipulating the external environment with our nimble fingers
Movement
The muscle cell’s ability to move by shortening
Contractility
The ability to sense changes in the environment and then respond to them
Responsiveness or excitability
The breaking down of ingested foodstuffs to simple molecules that can be absorbed into the blood
Digestion
All chemical reactions that occur within body cells. It includes breaking down substances into their simpler building blocks, synthesizing more complex cellular structures from simpler substances, and using nutrients and oxygen to produce ATP, the energy-rich molecules that power cellular activities.
Metabolism
The process of removing wastes, or excreta, from the body
Excretion
Occurs at the cellular and the organismal level.
Reproduction
An increase in size of a body part or the organism as a whole
Growth
Taken in via the dies, contain the chemical substances used for energy and cell building. Carbohydrates are the major energy fuel for body cells.
Nutrients
Accounts for 60% to 80% of our body weight and is the simple most abundant chemical substance in the body
Water
Normal body temperature
98.6 degrees
The force that air exerts on the surface of the body
Atmospheric pressure
Ability to maintain relatively stable internal conditions even thought the outside world changes continuously
Homeostasis
the factor or event being regulated
Variable
Some type of sensor that monitors the environment and responds to changes called stimuli, by sending information to the second component, the control center
Receptor
Determines the set point, which is the level or range at which a variable is to be maintained
Control center
Provides the means for the control center’s response to the stimulus
Effector
