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Anatomy & Physiology Key Concepts

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Terms in this set (28)

  • What is Anatomy?

    Anatomy is the study of the structure and shape of the body and its parts.

  • What is Physiology?

    Physiology is the study of the function of the body and how its parts work.

  • Name the levels of organization in the human body.

    Levels include chemical, cellular, tissue, organ, organ system, and organism levels.

  • What are the necessary life functions?

    Include maintaining boundaries, movement, responsiveness, digestion, metabolism, excretion, reproduction, and growth.

  • Define homeostasis.

    Homeostasis is the body's ability to maintain a stable internal environment despite external changes.

  • What is negative feedback in homeostasis?

    Negative feedback reverses a change to return the body to its set point, maintaining stability.

  • What is positive feedback?

    Positive feedback amplifies a change, moving the system further from its starting point, often to complete a process.

  • Name the anatomical position.

    Body standing upright, facing forward, feet flat, arms at sides, palms facing forward.

  • What are directional terms in anatomy?

    Terms like superior, inferior, anterior, posterior, medial, lateral, proximal, and distal describe locations relative to body parts.

  • What are the abdominopelvic regions?

    Divided into nine regions: right and left hypochondriac, epigastric, right and left lumbar, umbilical, right and left iliac, and hypogastric.

  • What are the four abdominopelvic quadrants?

    Right upper, left upper, right lower, and left lower quadrants used for clinical reference.

  • What are the three subatomic particles in atoms?

    Protons (positive charge), neutrons (neutral), and electrons (negative charge).

  • Define atomic number and mass number.

    Atomic number is the number of protons; mass number is protons plus neutrons.

  • What are isotopes?

    Atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons.

  • Name the three main types of chemical bonds.

    Ionic bonds (transfer of electrons), covalent bonds (sharing electrons), and hydrogen bonds (weak attraction between polar molecules).

  • What is the difference between a solution, colloid, and suspension?

    Solution: homogeneous mixture; colloid: heterogeneous with small particles; suspension: heterogeneous with large particles that settle.

  • What is an enzyme-substrate complex?

    A temporary molecule formed when an enzyme binds to its substrate to catalyze a reaction.

  • What is the pH scale?

    Measures acidity or alkalinity from 0 (acidic) to 14 (basic), with 7 as neutral.

  • Name the major organic compounds in the body.

    Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.

  • What is the cell theory?

    All living things are made of cells, cells are the basic unit of life, and all cells come from pre-existing cells.

  • What are the main functions of the cell membrane?

    Controls entry and exit of substances, provides protection, and facilitates communication.

  • What is the difference between active and passive membrane transport?

    Passive transport requires no energy and moves substances down their concentration gradient; active transport requires energy to move substances against the gradient.

  • What is tonicity?

    The ability of a solution to affect the volume and pressure of a cell by osmosis.

  • What is resting membrane potential?

    The electrical charge difference across the cell membrane at rest, typically negative inside the cell.

  • What are the phases of mitosis?

    Prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase are the stages of mitosis.

  • What is DNA replication?

    The process of copying DNA before cell division.

  • What is transcription?

    Process of copying DNA into messenger RNA (mRNA).

  • What is translation?

    Process where mRNA is decoded to build proteins at the ribosome.