Chapter 32 Flashcards
Anatomy
The structure of an organism
Physiology
The processes and functions of an organism
Organ System
A group of organs that work together in performing vital body functions
Epithelial Tissue
Covers the outside of the body and lines organs and cavities. Functions as a barrier against mechanical injury, pathogens, and fluid loss. Forms active interfaces with the environment.
Nervous Tissue
Functions in the receipt, processing, and transmission of information.
Neurons
Specialized cells that are the basic units of the nervous system
Glial Cells
Help nourish, insulate, and replenish neurons and in some cases moderate neuron function.
Muscle Tissue
Three types: skeletal, cardiac, and smooth. Responsible for movement, heart, and organ wall formation.
Connective Tissue
Consists of cells scattered through an extracellular matrix, often forming a web of fibers embedded in a liquid, jellylike, or solid foundation. Holds skin and other organs in place, forms tendons and ligaments, stores fat, forms cartilage, etc.
Endocrine System
The internal system of communication involving hormones, the ductless glands that secrete hormones, and the molecular receptors on or in target cells that respond to hormones; functions in concert with the nervous system to effect internal regulation and maintain homeostasis.
Nervous System
The fast-acting internal system of communication involving sensory receptors, networks of nerve cells, and connections to muscles and glads that respond to nerve signals; functions in concert with the endocrine system to effect internal regulation and maintain homeostasis.
Hormones
In multicellular organisms, one of many types of secreted chemicals that are formed in specialized cells, travel in body fluids, and act on specific target cells in other parts of the body, changing the target cells’ functioning. Hormones are thus important in long-distance signaling.
Reflexes
An automatic reaction to a stimulus, mediated by the spinal cord or lower brain
Endocrine Glands
A gland that secretes hormones directly into the interstitial fluid, from which they diffuse into the bloodstream
Hypothalamus
The ventral part of the vertebrate forebrain; functions in maintaining homeostasis, especially in coordinating the endocrine and nervous systems; secretes hormones of the posterior pituitary and releasing factors that regulate the anterior pituitary.
Negative Feedback
A form of regulation in which accumulation of an end product of a process slows the process; in physiology, a primary mechanism of homeostasis, whereby a change in a variable triggers a response that counteracts the initial change
Positive Feedback
A form of regulation in which an end product of a process speeds up that process; in physiology, a control mechanism in which a change in a variable triggers a response that reinforces or amplifies the change.
Pancreas
A gland with exocrine and endocrine tissues. The exocrine portion functions in digestion, secreting enzymes and an alkaline solution into the small intestine via a duct; the ductless endocrine portion functions in homeostasis, secreting the hormones insulin and glucagon into the blood.
Pituitary Gland
An endocrine gland at the base of the hypothalamus; consists of a posterior lobe, which stores and releases two hormones produced by the hypothalamus, and an anterior lobe, which produces and secretes many hormones that regulate diverse body functions.
Posterior Pituitary
An extension of the hypothalamus composed of nervous tissue that secretes oxytocin and antidiuretic hormone made in the hypothalamus; a temporary storage site for these hormones.
