Human Body Flashcards
Define Anatomy
science of body structures and the relationships between them.
Define Physiology
the science of the body and its functions - or rather, how the various body parts and body systems work
Define Homeostasis
the maintenance of a relatively stable condition in the body’s internal environment.
what are the factors affecting lifelong good health
- the environment and your own habits and behaviors.
- Your genetic makeup.
- The air you breathe, the food you eat, and even the thoughts you think.
describe the body’s six levels of structural organization
1 - chemical
2 - cellular
3 - tissue
4 - organ
5 - system
6 - organism
Chemical Level
- This is the very basic and smallest level of organization.
- includes atoms (the smallest unit of matter that participates in chemical reactions), and molecules (two or more atoms joined together).
- Certain atoms such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, and sulfur are essential for maintaining human life.
Cellular Level
- molecules combine to form cells which are the basic structural and functional units of an organism.
- Cells are considered the smallest living units within the human body.
- Your body has many different types of cells; some of these are nerve cells, muscle fiber cells, and epithelial cells
Tissue Level
- The tissue level consists of groupings of cells and the variety of materials surrounding them that work to perform a specific function.
four basic types of tissues
1 - epithelial tissue
2 - connective tissue
3 - muscular tissue
4 - nervous tissue.
Organ Level
- At the organ level, a variety of different types of tissues are joined together to form an organ.
- Organs are structures that are composed of two or more different tissues that work together to perform specific functions and are usually in a recognizable shape.
- Some examples of organs are the stomach, skin, heart, and liver.
System Level
- A system generally consists of related organs that work towards a common function.
- An example of a system or organ system is the digestive system, or cardiovascular system.
Sometimes an organ is part of more than one system. - Your pancreas, for example, is part of both the digestive and hormone producing endocrine system.
Organism Level
An organism is considered to be any living individual where all parts of the human body function together, constituting of the whole and functioning body.
eleven systems within the human body
integumentary system (skin)
skeletal system
muscular system
nervous system
endocrine system
cardiovascular system
lymphatic system
respiratory system
digestive system
urinary system
reproductive system
Integumentary System - component
- Component organs for this system involves the skin and its associated structures such as our hair, finger and toenails, sweat glands, and oil glands of the skin.
Integumentary System - direct functions
- Its direct functions are to protect the body, help regulate temperature, some waste elimination, vitamin D synthesis, the detection of sensations such as touch, pain, hot, and cold, and also to store fat and provides insulation.
Skeletal System - component
Components of this system involves the bones and joints of the body and their associated cartilages.
Skeletal System - direct functions
Its direct functions are to support and protect the body, provide surface area for muscle attachments, aid body movement, house cells that produce blood cells, and store minerals and lipids (fats).
Muscular System - component
Components of this system involves the skeletal muscle tissue - usually attached to bones (other muscle tissues include the smooth muscles of the heart).
Muscular System - direct functions
Its direct functions are to participate in the movement of the body, maintain posture, and be the body’s major source of heat production.
Nervous System - component
Components of this system involves the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and special sense organs such as the eyes and ears.
Nervous System - direct functions
Its direct functions are to generate action potentials (nerve impulses), to regulate body activities, to detect changes in the body’s internal and external environments, interpret changes and respond by causing muscular contractions or glandular secretions.
Endocrine System - component
Components of this system involves the hormone producing glands such as the pineal gland, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, thymus, thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, suprarenal (adrenal) glands, pancreas, ovaries and testes, as well as hormone producing cells in several other organs.
Endocrine System - direct functions
Its direct functions are to regulate the body activities by releasing hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers transported in the blood from endocrine glands or tissues to a target organ
Cardiovascular System - component
Components of this system involves the heart, blood, and blood vessels.
Cardiovascular System - direct functions
Its direct functions are to pump blood through the blood vessels via the heart. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to cells and carbon dioxide and waste away from cells.
It also helps to regulate acid-base balance, temperature, and the water content of bodily fluids.
Blood components help to defend against disease and repair damaged blood vessels.
Lymphatic System - component
Components of this system involves lymphatic fluid (lymph plasma), and lymphatic vessels, spleen, thymus, lymph nodes, and tonsils.
Lymphatic System - direct functions
Cells that carry out immune responses are also included; the predominant ones are B cells and T cells.
Respiratory System - component
Components of this system involves the lungs and air passages which include the pharynx (throat), larynx (voice box), trachea (windpipe), and bronchial tubes leading in and out of the lungs.
Respiratory System - direct functions
Its direct functions are to transfer oxygen from inhaled air to blood and carbon dioxide from blood to exhaled air, as well as helping to regulate acid-based body fluids. Air flowing out of the lungs through the vocal cords produces sound (speech).
Digestive System - component
Components of this system involves the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, colon, and anus.
Digestive System - direct functions
It also includes the accessory organs that assist in a variety of digestive processes such as the salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. Its direct functions are to achieve the physical and chemical breakdown of food, to absorb nutrients, and to eliminate solid wastes
Urinary System - component
Components of this system involves the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra.
Urinary System - direct functions
- Its direct functions are to produce, store, and eliminate urine, eliminate waste and regulate the volume and chemical composition of the blood, and to help maintain the acid-base balance of body fluids.
- It also helps to maintain the body’s mineral balance and to helps regulate the production of red blood cells.
Reproductive System - direct functions
Its direct functions are the production of sperm in males, the regulation of ovulation and menses in females and the regulation of reproductive and other body processes in both males and females.
Reproductive System - component
- Components of this system involves the gonads (testes in males and ovaries in females) and the associated organs such as the uterine tubes, uterus, vagina, clitoris, and mammary glands in females.
- In males it includes the epididymis, ductus deferens, seminal glands, prostate, and penis.
define Metabolism
considered the sum of all chemical processes that occur within the living body.
two phases of metabolism.
- catabolism which is the breakdown of complex chemical substances into simpler substances,
- anabolism which is the building up of complex chemical substances from smaller, simpler components.
catabolism
the breakdown of complex chemical substances into simpler substances,
anabolism
the building up of complex chemical substances from smaller, simpler components.
Responsiveness
the living body’s ability to detect and respond to changes.
Movement
the motion of the whole body but also includes individual organs, single cells, and even the tiny structures inside of cells.
Growth
the increase in body size that results from an increase in the size of existing cells.
It can also be an increase in the number of cells, or both.
Differentiation
the development of a cell from an unspecialized to a specialized state.
These are known as precursor (stem) cells which can divide and give rise to cells that undergo differentiation.
Reproduction
can refer to either the formation of new cells for tissue growth, repair, or replacement, or can refer to the production of a new individual.
clinical death
the loss of heartbeat, absence of spontaneous breathing, and the loss of brain function
important life processes of the body
Metabolism
responsiveness
movement
growth
differentiation
reproduction
feedback system
a cycle of events in which the status of a body condition is monitored, evaluated, changed, re-monitored, reevaluated, etc
feedback system includes three basic components:
- receptor
- control center
- effector
receptor
a body structure which monitors changes in a controlled condition and sends input to a control center.
A good example of this is certain nerve endings in your skin which monitor the temperature of your environment.
control center
sets the narrow range within which a controlled condition should be maintained, evaluates the input from the receptors, and generates output commands when needed.
A good example of this is the brain which acts as a control center. It receives the impulses from the receptors (in this case your skin) and generates an outbound nerve impulse or output.
effector
a body structure that receives output from the control center and produces a response or effect that changes the controlled condition.
Nearly every organ or tissue in your body can behave as an effector.
With the example of temperature, the brain, having received information from the skin receptors, creates a reaction - in this case, sending nerve impulses (output) to your skeletal muscles (effectors) to produce shivering, which helps to generate heat and can thus raise your body temperature.
two types of communicating feedback systems
negative feedback systems
positive feedback systems.
negative feedback systems
Most biological feedback systems are negative feedback systems.
occurs when a system’s output acts to reduce or dampen the processes that lead to the output of that system, resulting in less output.
allow systems to self-stabilize.
inherently stable systems.
Negative feedback loops, in conjunction with the various stimuli that can affect a variable, typically produce a condition in which the variable oscillates around the set point.
eg: regulating blood sugar
positive feedback systems
tends to strengthen or reinforce a change in one of the body’s controlled conditions.
The control center still provides commands to an effector, but this time the effector produces a physiological response that adds to or reinforces the initial change in the controlled condition.
The action of a positive feedback system continues until it is interrupted by some mechanism.
inherently unstable systems - because a change in an input causes responses that produce continued changes in the same direction, positive feedback loops can lead to runaway conditions.
The term positive feedback is typically used as long as a variable has an ability to amplify itself, even if the components of a loop (receptor, control center and effector) are not easily identifiable
