Framework of the Human Body Flashcards
what is Physiology?
The study of how living things function
What are the two concepts physiologists are interested in with regards to studying living things?
- How individual parts function at various levels of organisation
- How integration of individual parts affects the entire organism
How many types of specialised cells are there in the body?
200
What are the 3 types of muscle cell?
- Skeletal
- Cardiac
- Smooth
What is skeletal muscle?
Attached to bone or skin and under voluntary control
What is cardiac muscle?
found only in heart, involuntary control
what is smooth muscle?
surrounds many ‘tubes’ and vessels in the body. involuntary control
What different things can neurones synapse with?
- Other neurones
- Muscles
- Glands
What occurs when neurones synapsing with a gland are stimulated?
-Causes secretion of a hormone
What occurs when neurones synapsing with muscle are stimulated?
-Causes muscle contraction
What occurs when neurones synapsing with other neurones are stimulated?
Propagation of the action potential
What is a collection of neurones?
Nervous Tissue
What is nervous tissue + connective tissue?
A nerve
What are the 4 types of epithelial cells?
- Cuboidal
- Columnar
- Squamous
- Ciliated
What are the two key membranes of epithelial cells?
- Basolateral
- Apical
What is the basolateral membrane of an epithelial cell?
The membrane closest to the basement membrane
What is the apical membrane of an epithelial cell?
The membrane closest to the lumen
What are 2 key features of barriers made by epithelial cells?
- Apical and Basolateral Membrane may have different functions
- Tight junctions can be formed between the cells
What are the 5 types of connective tissue?
- Loose Connective
- Dense Connective
- Bone and Cartilage
- Adipose
- Blood
What is the immediate environment that surrounds all cells in the body?
Extracellular Fluid + Extracellular Matrix (ECM)
What does the ECM consist of
Proteins, Polysaccharides and sometimes minerals
What are the two general functions of the ECM?
Provides scaffold for cellular attachment
It transmits information to cells to regulate activity (e.g. migration, growth and differentiation)
What are the two protein fibers of the ECM?
Collagen and Elastin
What is an organ?
An Organ is something composed of f more than two types of the four tissues
What are the different levels of organisation in the body?
- Cells
- Tissues
- Functioning units of organs
- Organs
- Organ systems
What is the fluid in the blood and surrounding cells?
Extracellular Fluid
What proportion of extracellular fluid is in the blood plasma?
20-25%
What is the extracellular fluid not found in the blood called?
Interstitial fluid
Where is interstitial fluid found?
the interstitium
explain the chain of different environments that ‘condition’ eachother through substance exchange
ICF is conditioned by ISF which is conditioned by plasma which is conditioned by the organs it passes through
What is homeostasis?
A state of reasonably stable balance between physiological variables. A balance of inputs and outputs
what is the concept in homeostasis that describes how variables fluctuate with respect to time within a predictable range?
Dynamic constancy
What is the term used to decribe situations where alterations to homeostasis outside the normal range occur?
Pathophysiology
What is negative feedback?
A mechanism where a variance in a variable from a set homeostatic point causes a response which brings the variable back to the set point
what is positive feedback?
A mechanism where a variance in a variable from a set homeostatic point causes a response which accelerates the rate/magnitude of that variance
