Introduction to the Human Body Flashcards
What are the 6 levels of structural organisation in the human body?
Chemical Level
Cellular Level
Tissue Level
Organ Level
System Level
Organismal Level
How many systems are there in the human body?
11
What are the components of the cardiovascular system?
Blood | Heart | Blood vessels
What are the functions of the cardiovascular system?
Heart pumps blood
Blood carries oxygen & carbon dioxide
Regulate temperature & water balance
Defend against disease | Repair vessels
What are the components of the digestive system?
Gastrointestinal tract
What are the functions of the digestive system?
Breakdown of food
Absorbs nutrients
Eliminates waste
What are the components of the endocrine system?
Hormone producing glands
What are the functions of the endocrine system?
Regulates body activities
Releases hormones
What are the components of the integumentary system?
Skin | Hair | Nails | Sweat & oil glands
What are the functions of the integumentary system?
Protects body
Regulate temperature
Eliminates waste (salts, urea)
Sensations (touch, pain, warmth, cold)
What are the main components of the muscular system?
Skeletal muscles
What are some functions of the skeletal system?
Produce body movement
Maintenance of posture
What are the components of the nervous system?
Brain | Spinal cord | Nerves
What are the functions of the nervous system?
Generate action potentials
(nerve impulses)
Detect changes in body’s internal &
external environments,
Interprets changes
Responds by causing muscular
contractions & glandular secretions
What are the components of the lymphatic system?
Lymph | Lymphatic vessels | Spleen |
Thymus | Lymph nodes | Tonsils
What are the functions of the lymphatic system?
Returns proteins to blood
Lipids from
gastrointestinal (GI) tract to blood
Protect against disease
What are the components of the skeletal system?
Bones | Joints | Cartilage
What are the functions of the skeletal system?
Support & protect the body
Surface for muscular attachment
Aids body movement
Produce blood cells
Stores lipids
What are the components of the reproductive system?
Females – Ovaries, uterus, vagina,
uterine tubes
Males – Epididymis | Ductus deferens |
Penis
What are the functions of the reproductive system?
Gonads produce sperm
Release hormones
Regulate reproduction
What are the components of the respiratory system?
Respiratory tract | Lungs
What are the main functions of the respiratory system?
Gaseous exchange
Regulate acid base balance
What are the components of the urinary system?
Kidneys | Ureters | Bladder | Urethra
What are the functions of the urinary system?
Produce, store & eliminate urine
Regulate volume &
composition of blood
Regulate acid base balance
Maintains mineral balance
Regulates production of red blood cells
What are 6 basic life processes?
Metabolism - Chemical processes in the body | Catabolism | Anabolism
Responsiveness - Body’s ability to detect & respond to changes (e.g. changing body temperature)
Movement - Motion of whole body, individual organs or single cells (e.g. movement of limbs)
Growth - Increase in body size through increase in size of existing cells
Differentiation - Development of unspecialised cell to specialised cell (e.g. stem cells into red blood cells)
Reproduction - Formation of new cells for tissue growth, repair or replacement (e.g. fertilisation of ovum by sperm
cell)
What is Catabolism?
Breakdown of complex chemical substances
into smaller components
Eating food causes breakdown of proteins into
amino acids
What is Anabolism?
Building up of complex chemical substances from
smaller, simpler components
Amino acids are used to anabolise (build) new
proteins used to form muscle & bone
What is Homeostasis?
The condition of equilibrium (balance) in the body’s internal environment due to the constant
interaction of the body’s many regulatory processes
Dynamic process – Able to respond to changing conditions
Homeostasis maintains blood
glucose within normal limits
Homeostasis is used to maintain the composition of body fluids
Homeostasis is continually disturbed by stressors i.e temperature, altitude and psychological load
What is negative feedback?
Reverses a change in a controlled condition (e.g. control of blood glucose)
What is positive feedback?
Strengthens or reinforces a change in a controlled condition
Deviation in physiological parameter leads to response in same direction
an example of positive feedback is labour contractions during childbirth. The positive feedback loop continues until the child is born.
What causes homeostatic imbalances?
disorder - Abnormality to structure or function (e.g. concussion)
or disease - illness characterised by a recognizable set of signs & symptoms
