Homeostasis Flash Cards
Anatomy
The branch of science concerned with the bodily structure of humans, animals, and other living organisms.
Physiology
The branch of biology that deals with the normal functions of living organisms and their parts.
Organelle
A subcellular structure that has one or more specific jobs to perform in the cell.
Cell
The smallest unit that can live on its own and that makes up all living organisms and the tissues of the body.
Tissue
A group of cells that have similar structure and that function together as a unit.
Organ
A collection of tissues that structurally form a functional unit specialized to perform a particular function.
Organ System
A biological system consisting of a group of organs that work together.
Metabolism
The chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.
Organism
An individual animal, plant, or single-celled life form.
Homeostasis
A relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements.
Control Center
A place from which an organization, activity, or system is centrally monitored and directed, or where operational devices and controls are housed.
Negative Feedback Mechanisms
A regulatory mechanism in which a ‘stimulus’ causes an opposite ‘output’ in order to maintain an ideal level of whatever is being regulated.
Receptor
An organ or cell able to respond to light, heat, or other external stimulus and transmit a signal to a sensory nerve.
Positive Feedback Mechanism
A process that occurs in a feedback loop which exacerbates the effects of a small disturbance.
Effector
An organ or cell that acts in response to a stimulus.
Superior
Toward the head end of the body; upper.
Inferior
Towards the bottom or away from the head-end of the body.
Anatomical Position
Specific body orientation used when describing an individual’s anatomy.
Anterior
“in front of” or “the front surface of.¨
Posterior
The back of a structure, or a structure found toward the back of the body.
Sagittal Plane
A vertical plane which passes through the body longitudinally.
Transverse Plane
A horizontal plane.
Frontal Plane
A vertical plane running from side to side; divides the body or any of its parts into anterior and posterior portions.
Oblique Plane
Divides the body at an angle between the horizontal and vertical planes.
Thoracic Cavity
A space inside your thorax (chest) that contains your heart, lungs and other organs and tissues.
Abdominal Cavity
The cavity within the abdomen, the space between the abdominal wall and the spine.
Pelvic Cavity
The space inside the pelvic bones.
Serous Membranes
A smooth tissue membrane of mesothelium lining the contents and inner walls of body cavities.
Pericardial Cavity
A potential space between the visceral and parietal pericardial layers, which meet at lines of attachment on the surfaces of the heart and the great vessels.
Pleural Cavity
A space between the visceral and parietal pleura.
