Definitions of Chapter 1 Flashcards
Dissection
The carful cutting apart of body structures to study their relationships.
Physiology
Deals with functions of body parts - that is, how they work.
Noninvasive Diagnostic Technique
One that does not involve insertion of an instrument or device through the skin or into a body opening.
Inspection
The first noninvasive diagnostic technique, the examiner observes the body for any changes that deviate from normal.
Palpation
The examiner feels body surfaces with the hands.
Auscultation
The examiner listens to body sounds to evaluate the functioning of certain organs, often using a stethoscope to amplify the sounds.
Percussion
The examiner taps on the body surface with the fingertips and listens to the resulting sound.
Chemical Level
Can be compared to the letters of the alphabet, includes atoms, and molecules.
Atoms
The smallest units of matter that participate in chemical reactions.
Molecules
Two or more atoms joined together.
Cellular Level
Molecules combine to form cells, which can be compared to assembling letters into words.
Cells
Structures composed of chemical and are the basic structural and functional units of an organism. Just as words are the smallest building blocks of language, cells are the smallest living units in the human body.
Tissue Level
The second level of structural organization.
Tissues
Groups of cells and the materials surrounding them that work together to perform a particular function, similar to the way words are put together to form sentences.
Organ Level
Different types of tissues are joined together.
Organs
Similar to the relationship between sentences and paragraphs, they are structures that are composed of two or more different types of tissues; they have specific functions and usually have recognizable shapes.
System Level / Organ-System Level
The fifth level of structural organization in the human body.
System
Consists of related organs (paragraphs) with a common function.
Organismal Level
The largest organizational level in the human body.
Organism
Any living individual, can be compared to a book in our analogy
Anatomical Position
The standard position of reference for the description of anatomical structures.
Prone
The body is lying face down.
Supine
The body is lying face up.
Head
Consists of the skull and face.
Neck
A modified portion of the trunk, supports the head and attached it to the remainder of the trunk.
Trunk
Consists of the neck, thorax, abdomen, and pelvis.
Upper Limb (Extremity)
Attached to the trunk and consists of the shoulder, armpit, arm, forearm, wrist, and hand.
Lower Limb (Extremity)
Attached to the trunk and consists of the buttock, thigh, leg, ankle, and foot.
Groin
The area on the front surface of the body marked by a crease on each side, where the trunk attached to the thighs.
Planes
Imaginary flat surfaces that pass through the body.
Sagittal Plane
A vertical plane that divides the body or organ into right and left sides.
Midsagittal Plane / Median Plane
When a plane passes through the midline of the body and divides it into equal right and left sides.
Parasagittal Plane
A sagittal plane that divides the body into unequal right and left sides.
Frontal Plane / Coronal Plane
Divides the body or an organ into front and back portions.
Transverse Plane / Cross-Sectional Plane / Horizontal Plane
Divides the body or an organ into upper and lower portions.
Oblique Plane
Passes through the body or organ at an oblique angle (any angle other than 90 degrees).
Sections
Are cuts of the body or one of its organs made along one of the planes just described.
Directional Terms
Words that describe the position of one body part relative to another.
Anatomy
The study of structure and the relationships among structures.
