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Anatomy & Physiology: Introduction to the Human Body

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Terms in this set (20)

  • What is anatomy?

    Anatomy is the study of the structure of an organism, including microscopic and gross structures.

  • What is physiology?

    Physiology is the study of the functions of the body, such as neurophysiology, cardiac physiology, and renal physiology.

  • What is the Principle of Complementarity in anatomy and physiology?

    Structure and function are complementary; the form of a body part relates to its function.

  • What does microscopic anatomy study?

    Structures that cannot be seen without magnification, including cytology (cells) and histology (tissues).

  • What is gross anatomy?

    Also called macroscopic anatomy; studies structures visible without a microscope, including systemic, regional, surface, developmental, pathological, and radiographic anatomy.

  • List the hierarchy of structural organization in the human body.

    Atoms > Molecules > Cellular level > Tissue > Organ > System > Organism.

  • What are the four basic tissue types?

    Epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous tissues.

  • Define homeostasis.

    Homeostasis is the process that maintains a stable internal environment despite external changes.

  • What is negative feedback?

    A control mechanism that reverses a change to return to a set point; most common in the body.

  • What is positive feedback?

    A control mechanism that amplifies a change away from the set point; less common, e.g., labor and blood clotting.

  • Describe the feedback loop components.

    Stimulus > Receptor > Input (control center) > Output (effector) > Response.

  • What is the anatomical position?

    Standing erect, facing observer, legs together, feet flat and forward, head level, eyes forward, hands at sides with palms forward.

  • What does 'supine' mean?

    Lying face up.

  • What does 'prone' mean?

    Lying face down.

  • Define the terms: superior, inferior, anterior, and posterior.

    Superior: above; Inferior: below; Anterior: front; Posterior: back.

  • What are the three main body planes?

    Sagittal (right and left), frontal/coronal (anterior and posterior), and transverse (superior and inferior).

  • Name the major body cavities.

    Dorsal (cranial and spinal) and ventral (thoracic and abdominopelvic) cavities.

  • What organs are in the thoracic cavity?

    Lungs (pleural cavities), heart (pericardial cavity), and mediastinum (esophagus, trachea, thymus, bronchi, major vessels).

  • What is the function of serous membranes?

    They reduce friction and compartmentalize organs within the ventral body cavity.

  • Differentiate between visceral and parietal serous membranes.

    Visceral covers organs; parietal lines cavity walls.