Semester exam review Flashcards
Anatomy
The study of the structure and shape of the body and its parts and their relationships to one another.
Physiology
The study of how the body and its parts work or function.
Gross anatomy
The study of large, easily observable structures.
Microscopic anatomy
Study of body structures that are too small to be seen with the naked eye.
Integumentary system
forms the external body covering; protects deeper tissue from injury; synthesizes vitamin D; location of sensory receptors (pain, pressure, etc.) and sweat and oil glands
Skeletal system
protects and supports body organs; provides a framework the muscles use to cause movement; blood cells are formed within bones; stores minerals
Muscular system
allows manipulation of the environment, locomotion, and facial expression; maintains posture; produces heat
Nervous system
fast–acting control system of the body; responds to internal and external changes by activating appropriate muscles and glands
Endocrine system
glands secrete hormones that regulate processes such as growth, reproduction, and nutrient use by body cells
Cardiovascular system
blood vessels transport blood, which carries oxygen, nutrients, hormones, carbon dioxide, wastes, etc.; the heart pumps blood
Lymphatic system
picks up fluid leaked from blood vessels and returns it to blood; disposes of debris in the lymphatic stream; houses white blood cells involved in immunity
Respiratory system
keeps blood constantly supplied with oxygen and removes carbon dioxide; the gaseous exchanges occur through the walls of the air sacs in the lungs
Digestive system
breaks food into absorbable nutrients that enter the blood for distribution to body cells; indigestible foodstuffs are eliminated as feces
Urinary system
eliminates nitrogen-containing wastes from the body; regulates water, electrolyte, and acid-base balance of the blood
Reproductive system
production of offspring; testes produce sperm and male sex hormone; ducts and glands aid in the delivery of viable sperm to the female reproductive tract; ovaries produce eggs and female sex hormones; remaining structures serve as sites for fertilization and development of the fetus; mammary glands of the female breasts produce milk to nourish the newborn
Maintaining boundaries
the organism’s “insides” remain distinct from its “outsides;” cells are surrounded by cell membrane that separates its contents from the outside interstitial fluid and allows entry of needed substances; prevents entry of potentially damaging or unnecessary substances
Movement
includes all the activities promoted by the muscular system (skeletal system, movement when blood, foodstuffs, and urine are propelled through internal organs)
Responsiveness (or irritability)
the ability to sense changes (stimuli) in the environment and then react to them
Digestion
process of breaking down ingested food into simple molecules that can then be absorbed into the blood
Metabolism
a broad term that refers to all chemical reactions that occur within the body and all of its cells
Excretion
the process of removing excreta, or wastes from the body (the digestive system removes indigestible food residues in feces, the urinary system disposes of nitrogen-containing metabolic wastes in urine, skin disposes of waste products in sweat
Reproduction
the production of offspring can occur on the cellular or organismal level
Growth
can be an increase in cell size or an increase in body size
5 survival needs
- Nutrients
- Oxygen
- Water
- Appropriate temperature
- Atmospheric pressure
Homeostasis
Describes the body’s ability to maintain relatively stable internal conditions even though the outside world is continuously changing.
Homeostatic imbalance
A disturbance that can be the cause of a disease; as we age, our body organs become less efficient and our internal conditions become less and less stable; this puts us at an increased risk for illness and produce the changes we associate with aging
How does your body maintain homeostasis with a receptor, control center, and effectors?
Stimulus (a change) that is recognized by a receptor (a type of sensor that monitors and responds to changes in the environment); the receptor sends the information (input) to the control center along the afferent pathway, and the control center determines the level (set point) at which the variable is to be maintained; the effector provides the means for the control center’s response (output) to the stimulus; information flows from the control center to the effector along the efferent pathway (efferent exits the control center); results of the response then feedback to influence the stimulus either by positive or negative feedback
Negative feedback mechanisms
Most are negative; the net effect of the response to the stimulus is to either shut off the original stimulus or reduce its intensity
Positive feedback mechanisms
Rare; tend to increase the original disturbance (stimulus) and to push the variable farther from its original value
Sagittal section
cut along the lengthwise, or longitudinal, a plane of the body, dividing the body into right and left parts
Midsagittal (or median) section
if the cut is down the median plane of the body and the right and left parts are equal in size
Frontal section
a cut along the lengthwise plane that divides the body (or an organ) into anterior and posterior parts
Transverse section
a cut along the horizontal plane, dividing the body or organ into superior and inferior parts (also called a cross-section)
Dorsal body cavity
has 2 subdivisions that are continuous with each other: the cranial cavity (the space inside the bony skull) and the spinal cavity (extends from the cranial cavity to the end of the spinal cord)
Ventral body cavity
is much larger than the dorsal cavity; contains all the structures within the chest and abdomen (the visceral organs); subdivided into the thoracic cavity (separated by the diaphragm; lungs, and heart, protected by the rib cage); mediastinum separates the lungs into the right and left cavities in the thoracic cavity; inferior to the diaphragm is the abdominopelvic cavity (abdominal – stomach, liver, intestines; pelvic cavity – reproductive organs, bladder, and rectum)
Cell
Structural units of all living things
Tissue
Groups of cells that are similar in structure and function
4 major types of tissue
Epithelial, connective, nervous, and muscle
Where in your body do you find epithelial tissue?
Forms lining, covering, and glandular tissue of the body; Covers all free body surfaces, both inside and out
Functions of epithelial tissue
Protection, absorption, filtration, and secretion
5 characteristics of epithelium
- Fit close together to form continuous sheets
- Membranes always have one free (unattached) surface or edge (apical surface); the apical surface is exposed to the body’s exterior or the cavity of an internal organ
- the anchored (basal) surfaces rest on a basement membrane (a structureless material secreted by both epithelial cells and the connective tissue cells deep
- Have NO blood supply of their own (are avascular) and depend on diffusion from the capillaries in the underlying connective tissue from food and oxygen
- If well nourished, epithelial cells regenerate themselves easily
Simple epithelia
one layer
Stratified epithelia
more than one layer
Squamous
flattened like fish scales
Cuboidal
cube-shaped
Columnar
shaped like columns
Simple squamous epithelium
A single layer of thin squamous cells resting on a basement membrane; forms membranes where filtration or exchange of substances by rapid diffusion occurs. In the air sacs of the lungs (alveoli), where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged, form the walls of capillaries, where nutrients and gases pass between the blood in the veins and the interstitial fluid, also include serous membranes (serosae) (slick membranes that line the ventral body cavity and cover the organs in that cavity.
Simple cuboidal epithelium
One layer of cuboidal cells rests on a basement membrane. Common in glands and their associated small tubes called ducts, also forms the walls of the kidney tubules and covers the surface of ovaries.
Simple columnar epithelium
Is made up of a single layer of tall cells that fit closely together; goblet cells which produce lubricating mucus, are often seen here. Lines the entire length of the digestive tract from the stomach to the anus
Pseudostratified columnar epithelium
Rest on a basement membrane, but some cells are shorter than others so their nuclei appear at different heights above the basement membrane, absorption, and secretion. Lines most of the respiratory tract.
Stratified squamous epithelium
In the most common stratified epithelium; cells at the free edge are squamous, whereas the cells close to the basement membrane are cuboidal or columnar. Found in sites that receive a good deal of abuse or friction, such as the surface of the skin, the mouth, and the esophagus
Stratified cuboidal epithelium
Typically just have 2 cell layers with at least the surface cells being cuboidal; fairly rare. Largest ducts of sweat glands, mammary glands, and salivary glands.
Stratified columnar epithelium
Are columnar, but the basal cells vary in shape and size; fairly rare. Small amounts in the male urethra and some glands.
Transitional epithelium
Highly modified, stratified squamous epithelium forms the lining of only a few organs that are able to stretch considerably. Lining the urinary bladder, the ureters, and part of the urethra.
Glandular epithelium
Glandular cells obtain needed materials from the blood and use them to make their products, which they discharge by exocytosis. Endocrine glands: thyroid, adrenals, and pituitary; exocrine glands: sweat and oil glands, liver, pancreas.
Endocrine gland
Lose their ducts, thus they are often called ductless glands, their secretions (all hormones) diffuse directly into the blood vessels that weave through the glands (examples: thyroid, adrenals, and pituitary)
Exocrine gland
Retain their ducts and their secretions exit through the ducts to the epithelial surface (examples: exocrine: sweat and oil glands, liver, pancreas)
Connective tissue
Connects body parts, found everywhere in the body
Functions of connective tissue
Protecting, supporting, binding together other body tissue
Connective tissue: vascular?
Most connective tissues are well vascularized, but there are exceptions; tendons and ligaments for example have a poor blood supply and cartilage is avascular
Extracellular matrix
Produced by connective tissue cells and then secreted to their exterior, has two main elements: a structureless ground substance and fibers.
Ground substance
Part of the extracellular matrix that is composed mainly of water plus some cell adhesion proteins and large polysaccharide molecules
3 types of fibers that make up connective tissue?
Collagen, elastic, reticular
Bone (osseous) tissue
Osteocytes sitting in lacunae (cavities). Lacunae are surrounded by layers of the hard matrix that contains calcium salts and large numbers of collagen fibers. Protect and support other body organs
Hyaline cartilage
Most widespread of all cartilage. A glassy blue-white appearance. Trachea (windpipe) and attaches the ribs to the sternum; covers bone ends at joints.
Elastic cartilage
Found in structures with elasticity; external ear
Fibrocartilage
Highly compressible. Forms the cushion-like disks between the vertebrae of the spinal column.
Dense connective tissue (dense fibrous tissue)
The main matrix element is collagen fibers. Fibroblasts: fiber-forming cells that manufacture the building blocks of the fibers; form strong, ropelike structures. Tendons & ligaments + lower layers of the skin (dermis).
4 types of loose connective tissue
Areolar, adipose, reticular, blood
Areolar tissue
Most widely distributed connective tissue in the body. Soft, pliable, and cobwebby, cushions and protects the body organs it wraps, universal packing tissue, and connective tissue glue because it helps to hold the internal organs together and in their proper positions. Loose and fluid nature; provides a reservoir of water and salts for the surrounding tissues, and essentially all body cells obtain their nutrients from and release their wastes into this “tissue fluid.” When a body region is inflamed, the local areolar tissue soaks up the excess fluid like a sponge, and the area swells and becomes puffy (edema), many types of phagocytes wander through these tissues, scavenging for bacteria, dead cells, and other debris, which they destroy.
Adipose tissue
Fat; a glistening droplet of oil occupies most of a fat cell’s volume and compresses the nucleus, displacing it to one side. Forms the subcutaneous tissue beneath the skin, where it insulates the body and protects it from bumps and extremes of both heat and cold; protects some organs individually (kidneys, eyeball, hips, breasts, belly).
Reticular connective tissue
A delicate network of interwoven reticular fibers associated with reticular cells, which resemble fibroblasts. Forms the stroma or internal framework of an organ; can support many free blood cells in lymphoid organs such as lymph nodes, spleen, and bone marrow
Blood (vascular) tissue
Considered a connective tissue because it consists of blood cells surrounded by a nonliving, fluid matrix called blood plasma. Is the transport vehicle for the cardiovascular system, carrying nutrients, wastes, respiratory gasses, white blood cells, and many other substances
Muscle tissue
Three types: skeletal, cardiac, and smooth. They are highly specialized in contracting, or shortening, which generates the force required to produce movement.
