The main goal of this chapter is to give the student a base of vocabulary and concepts that allows the student to communicate effectively with doctors, nurses, emergency personnel and other people. The student MUST be able to spell the words correctly since much communication takes place in WRITTEN notes and charts.

The suffix ‘-ology’ on any word, means ‘the study of’ … whatever the word starts with – the prefix.
If you know the meaning of the prefix, you can determine the meaning of the whole word.

    Biology is ‘the study of life’.
    Embryology,
    Oncology,
    Gastroenterology
    Histology
    Cytology, etc.
Other sciences use this technique also: meteorology, geology, dendrology, etc.

Often words will end in ‘omy’ as in Anatomy (suffix is ‘-tomy’ – to cut, dissect) and astronomy (suffix is ‘-nomy – to name, study). In general, these words mean ‘the study of’ – Structure, or Stars respectively.

Anatomy - the study of structure, or, the general form of an organism
Physiology - the study of function
Pathology - the study of disease

Pathophysiology - the study of the disease function; or, how a pathogen causes disease.

   Appendectomy

   Tonsilectomy

   Hysterectomy

These levels of organization refer changes in size starting with very small atomic and molecular particles and passing through a gradient of larger-sized, more organized particles,  to the macro scale body parts that we can see with the naked eye to the whole organism.

Organization is important because the parts of each level of organization have specific functions.  When the right functions group (organize) together, that 'organization' permits the next level of organization to have a new, unique function at that higher level.

For this course, I select SubAtomic particles as the beginning of the levels of Organization - BUT, subatomic particles, are themselves are made up of even smaller particles.  Mostly, we will describe anatomy and physiology in terms of atoms - however, the properties of the subatomic particles are extremely important to understanding many concepts, such as:
            - metabolic breakdown and synthesis of molecules (for energy, to build needed molecules, etc)
            - protein functions
            - pH (acidity) of the body
            -  and more.
 

SubAtomic particles -   There are three types

           protons - particles with a positive electrical charge; found in the nucleus of the atom
           neutrons - particles with  NO electrical charge, neutral; found in the atom nucleus
           electrons - tiny particles with a negative electrical charge; found in energy shell 'orbits'
                  around the nucleus of the atom.

             Subatomic particles are grouped/Organized into Atoms

Atoms - the smallest unit of matter (see Chapter 2)        

             Atoms are grouped/organized into Molecules.

Molecules - 2 or more atoms bonded together by chemical forces.

             Molecules are grouped/organized into organelles.

Organelle [chapter 3]– groups of molecules are organized into Organelles, small structures w/in cells
     that perform a specific function. 

             Organelles are grouped/Organized into cells.

Cell [chapter 3]– the basic living unit of all plants and animals. 
    This is the level at which smaller molecular parts come together with atomic and molecular functions
    that permit this level to function as a LIVING UNIT (i.e. it has all the 'characteristics of life' - see below)

         Although many cells differ- they all have many characteristics in common. Knowledge of the
         similarities and differences is essential to understanding anatomy and physiology.
         Cells are small units of protoplasm, separated from the external environment by a cell membrane.

              Cells are grouped/Organized into Tissues.

Tissue [chapter 4]- group of cells with similar structure and function, together with the extracellular
        substances between them. 4 primary types:                

1. Epithelial Tissue - form a surface 2. Connective Tissue - connect parts and hold them together 3. Muscular Tissue - contraction 4. Nervous Tissue - transmit electrical signals

                   When a bunch of cells with a particular function group together, you get a tissue that has a
                   unique function, based on the specific functions of the cells that make up that tissue.

             Tissues are grouped/Organized into Organs.

Organ – two or more tissue types working together to perform particular function(s).

                   When two or more tissues (each with a particular function) group together, you get an
                   organ that has a unique function, based on the specific functions of the tissues that make
                   up that organ. 

             Organs are grouped/Organized into organ systems:

Organ Systems:  There are 11 Organ systems in the human body
      You must know each organ system and the major function associated with that system.

   In determining the major function for each system, this course will assign top priority to that
      function that directly leads to LIFE.  All the functions of a system are important, however,
      loss of some functions leads very quickly to death, while loss of other functions can be
      tolerated for a longer period of time.
    Many students in this course are preparing to enter the health care field - which focuses in
      emergencies on:
            #1 - keep the patient alive right now!
            #2 - keep the patient alive longer term,
            #3 - bring the patient back to the point where his body systems is maintaining life

 I assign top priority to those functions that meet #1.

          Name the organ systems of the body

@-Online textbook: Physiology Animations: Introduction to Organ Systems

 

            Organ systems are grouped/Organized into Organisms.

Organism - this is the level at which all the parts come together with functions that keep the whole
     group (i.e. a multicellular organism) ALIVE.

We stop our levels of Organization at Organisms.
     BUT we could continue:
        Organisms are grouped into Species... species into populations... populations into
           biological communities... biological communities + environment into ecosystems...
           etc...etc... into universe.

There are two important points in the levels of organization:
   Cells - the level where sufficient 'molecular functions' come together to permit 'life'.
           Atoms cannot, by themselves, be 'alive'.
           Organelles cannot, by themselves, be 'alive'.
   Organism - the level where sufficient 'cellular functions' come together to permit multicellular life.
           Tissues cannot, by themselves, REMAIN alive - they must have the support of other tissues.
           Organs cannot, by themselves, remain alive - they must have the support of the other organs.
 

          What does 'support' mean?
             Support is the other functions. 
          Remember each cell or tissue has a unique function, and it is the grouping of FUNCTIONS into an
          organized whole, with unique function, that we know as 'life'.

Why is organization important?
  Why are the functions of the 'parts' of a level of organization important?
       Each physical part has a specific function.
          It is the grouping together (organization) of a bunch of specific functions that gives rise to
          the phenomenon that we call 'life'. 

What are the two important points in the levels of organization?
  What is unique about these points?

List the levels of organization.
  What 'parts' are grouped together to form each level?
List the 4 types of tissues and the function of each.
List the 11 organ systems and the major function of each.

What is the basic unit of life?

Now - with this knowledge about the organization of cells -
    what are those 'functions' that support (produce?) life?

Describe the Characteristics (functions) of Life

Objects can be described as
  Nonliving - do not possess the characteristics of life
  Living - DO possess the characteristics of life.

so... what are the characteristics of life?
  There are 5 characteristics

1. Organization - we've already discussed organization.  This characteristic brings together unique
     functions that ultimately give the organism the ability to remain alive.
 

2. Responsive to it's environment.  Living things 'respond' to the environment.
      Remember the 'functions' of the 'parts' of a living thing?
       When an organism encounters a specific environmental condition, it responds with a specific
       function. 
           Eg.  when food is encountered in the jungle, the lion eats the food.
                  When blood pressure rises, the nervous system vasodilates blood vessels which lowers
                      blood pressure.
                  When cells run out of energy, the organism 'gets hungry' and looks for food.

3. Growth and Development - Living things absorb energy and nutrients and increase in mass (size). 
     As they increase in size, the organism passes through developmental stages (embryo, fetus, baby,
     toddler, preadolescent, juvenile, teenager, young adult, middle age adult, old age adult, etc)
 

4. Reproduction - The unique, biological function of each organism is to reproduce itself.

5. Metabolism - the sum total of all Chemical Reactions carried out by organisms;
     It is the ability to use energy (sunlight, food) to perform vital functions: growth, movement, and
       reproduction.
    There are two types:
          Catabolism - decomposition.  Breaking molecules apart into their subcomponents.

                 In biology, the process is called 'hydrolysis'.

          Anabolism - synthesis (making) new molecules.  Using small parts (atoms and molecules) to
                 make new, needed molecules or organelles.

Excretion - the process of eliminating waste products created by the metabolic processes

Describe the 'level of organization at which all the Characteristics of Life are present.

  Describe the Cell Theory.

Homeostasis is the existence and maintenance of a relatively constant internal environment.

Homeostasis is maintained by feedback mechanisms: negative or positive.
  hmm... I just said that we use METABOLISM to maintain homeostasis, so... which is it?
   Anabolism is used to SYNTHESIZE chemicals that effect a change in a condition
   We synthesize both glucagon and insulin - these two chemicals control blood sugar levels.

Negative feedback mechanisms are DIRECTLY HOMEOSTATIC

  They counteract the trend, returning the body toward homeostasis.
   If your body temperature is rising above normal: say it’s 100 F and normal is 98.6 F, you start to sweat which COOLS the body. As the body cools, the temperature drops to 97 F and you start to shiver, which then WARMS the body. Your temperature rises to 99 and you stop shivering, and start sweating again and so on. In this manner the body maintains a temperature between 97.4 and 100.1 degrees F. The AVERAGE for most people is 98.6 F – and this is why we define homeostasis as the existence and maintenance of a RELATIVELY constant internal environment.

Positive feedback mechanisms are NOT directly homeostatic -
  They reinforce the trend, pushing the body farther away from homeostasis.
   Uterine contractions during childbirth start mild and far apart. As labor progresses, the contractions get stronger and closer together. Eventually, the contractions are strong enough and frequent enough to cause delivery of the baby – and the body, having expelled the baby, returns to normal homeostasis. Blood pressure drop during hemorrhage is also a positive feedback mechanism – however this is LETHAL.

Acute stress - a SHARP, STRONG short term shock.
    Any condition that pulls the body so far away from homeostasis that it poses an
       immediate threat to life.
    This type stress usually lasts only a very short period of time: gunshot, car wreck, very strong emotional
       shock (death of a loved one, etc).

Chronic Stress - a low-level, long-term condition.
   Any condition that pulls the body away from homeostasis, but not far enough to pose an immediate
        threat to life. 
   This stress typically lasts for a very long time (days, weeks, months and even years): poor work
         environment, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, unhappy home life, etc 

   Chronic stressors can deplete the body of needed homeostasis to the point where the stress becomes
         Acute.(heart attack following many years of heart problems; insulin shock due to blood sugar
          problems, etc)

Describe Stress and Disease

Stress is anything that pushes the system away from equilibrium. 
Equilibrium = homeostasis. 
Stress is characterized by 3 stages:
   Accommodation - the body 'deals' with the condition in the short term
   Adaptation - the body adjusts its metabolism to 'deal' with the condition in the Long term
   Exhaustion - the body can NO LONGER adjust to the condition - and it becomes
       ACUTE.  i.e. life threatening.

Physical
   Fatigue
   External temperature extremes
   Weight
   General health

 

Chemical
  Ions
  Nutrients
  pH
  Alcohol/toxins/
  Dietary substances
  Drugs

 

Mental/emotional
  Depression/ unhappiness
  Loneliness
  Confidence
  Self reliance
  Peacefulness
  Sense of self

Physical exertion and fatigue – the body cannot provide sufficient resources to maintain the appropriate homeostasis; ‘toxins’ build up in the body and it needs/requires time with low resource demands from other body systems in order to process these ‘wastes’.

External temperature extremes – at first the temperature of the body moves to equilibrate with the external temperature – it accomodates.

Next it adjusts to that temperature and returns the body to its ‘normal’ temperature.  It does this through the expenditure of resources to generate or release energy.

Finally, with no change in the external enviroment, the body enters a state of exhaustion, in which it can no longer supply the resources (it has used em all up maybe?).  At the same time, it can no longer supply the needed resources to the critical body functions and the person dies of EXPOSURE.

 Disease - Anything that pulls the body away from homeostasis.

What is the norm for body temperature?
  What is the range for body temperature?

 The Standard Anatomical Position is that position described as - standing erect, face forward, arms extended at the side, palms forward and feet forward.  This is the famous 'symbol' of medicine - as drawn by Leonardo Da Vinci.

The Standard Anatomical Position is the Benchmark position for the body.  It places all the parts into a particular location with respect to all the other parts so that they can be accurately described.

 
You will learn the body parts as they are arranged in this position, relative to one another. When you arrive at an accident site and the injured parties are wrapped around a telephone pole and tangled up in a fence, you must be able to describe the condition of the injured in a way that doctors and nurses can understand. The standard anatomical position allows you to do this.

The word ‘Plane’ is the mathematics concept for a surface consisting of a length, width and depth.

‘Section’ is often used medically, esp. in forensics, to indicate ‘cutting’ the body part in a particular plane.

A Sagittal section or Sagittal plane is a ‘cut’ through the body from front to back which
        divides the body into left and right parts.

A Midsagittal is a plane through the midline, from front to back that divides the body into
         EQUAL right and left halves.

A Transverse plane or section is a horizontal 'cut' that divides the body into top and bottom parts.

     This 'plane' is at a right angle (90 degrees) to the midline.

An Oblique plane or section is a 'cut' that divides the body into top and bottom parts.
    This plane is at an angle other than 90 degrees to the midline.

A Frontal (aka Coronal) Section is a 'cut' from side to side
      divides the body into front and back parts.

As you learn the specific organs in each system, you must be able to describe their location with respect to other organs and body structures in the standard anatomical position.

Superior/cephalic                              Inferior/caudal

Anterior/ventral                                  Posterior, dorsal

Proximal                                             Distal

Medial – toward the midline            Lateral – away from the midline

Superficial                                          Deep

Prone – lie venter/face down.          Supine  - lie dorsal/face up.

Right                                                   Left

Other terms describing body regions:

    Cervical - neck

    Brachial - upper arm

    Cubital - inside elbow

    Axillary - armpit
    Thoracic - chest - ribcage

    Lumbar - abdomen, lower back

    Pelvic - pelvic bones

    Inguinal - crease where leg joins pelvic region

    Femoral - thigh

    Popliteal - back of the knee

This is a crucial overview of the body. These are critical vocabulary and concepts to build a foundation for further learning.

The cavity, the membrane, and the fluid often have the same general name.

Eg. The cavity that contains the heart is the pericardial cavity and is lined by the pericardium (aka pericardial membrane).
The membrane produces pericardial fluid.

The parietal pericardium is the membrane attached to the wall of the pericardial cavity; the visceral pericardium is the membrane attached to the surface of the heart. Pericardial fluid reduces friction between the beating heart and the lungs, trachea, esophagus, diaphragm, aorta, and other structures located next to the heart.

Dorsal cavity – contains the brain and spinal column, vertebrae.

Cranial Cavity: holds brain, with in the skull; everything above the foramen magnum

Vertebral cavity: spinal, holds spinal chord, below foramen magnum.

Meninges – serous membranes -
Three layers:
   dura mater,
   pia mater,
   arachnoid 

Ventral Cavity – (anterior cavity)
made up of two main cavities - separated by the diaphragm.
    Thoracic cavity
    AbdominoPelvic Cavity

Thoracic: lungs, heart, mediastinum, ribs, thymus, thyroid.

two Pleural cavity: Pleura surround lungs

Pericardial cavity: Pericardium – surrounds heart

Mediastinum – NOT a cavity, but an area, behind sternum, houses the Heart, esophagus, trachea, thymus gland, etc. 

Diaphragm – dome shaped musculo membranous, partition that divides the thoracic from the abdominopelvic cavity.

        Abdomino-pelvic:

Abdominal: stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas, part of colon, spleen, kidneys (retroperitoneal); digestive organs, false pelvis

Pelvic (bounded by pelvic bones): gonads, bladder, large intestine, and rectum, true pelvis

Peritoneum – serous membrane that line organs and body wall.

Mesenteries – support organs and provide pathway for blood and lymph vessels, and nervous tissues.

Greater Omentum – double fold of mesentery, hangs from greater curvature of the stomach over the intestines and attaches to the transverse colon; contains lots of fat; functions to keep the intestines warm even on a cold day.

Lesser Omentum – double fold of mesentary; runs from the lesser curvature of the stomach to the liver.

Iliopectineal line – imaginary line which divides the abdominal and pelvic cavities; also divides the true and false pelvis.

Other Cavities:

Open to outside

Oral                       Nasal              Orbital

Middle ear            Digestive

Closed to outside

Synovial capsule

Mucous Membranes:

Secrete mucous – a thick, viscous, fluid

Lines all the surfaces of the body and the passageways such as the digestive, respiratory, lips, mouth, nose, vagina, glans penis, rectum, that are exposed to the EXTERNAL environment.

      Keeps organs wet so they don’t dry out
Contains enzymes needed to help fight infection
Contains antibodies needed to help fight infection
Can trap foreign substances to help fight infection

 Some are simple squamous – single layer, nasal cavity

Some are stratified squamous – 2 or more layers of cells; top layer of tongue, esophagus, oropharynx,

Some are simple columnar – single layer of tall, column-shaped cells. digestive system

Endothelium – simple squamous cells which line the inside of the heart and the blood vessels; acts as a lining.

Use proper terminology to describe the location of body parts with respect to one another

Body regions:

Central region: head, neck; trunk.  This is the AXIS of the body. It anchors the limbs.

Limbs: upper (arms) and lower  (legs).  These 'move' because they are anchored by the trunk.

Many vital processes occur in the abdomen, and when one of these processes malfunctions the person become ill. When a patient presents information about a ‘pain right here’, knowledge of the organs internal to that area is a diagnostic tool.

4 quadrants: horizontal and vertical lines running through and intersecting at the umbilicus.  i.e. a transvers plane at the belly button, and the midsagittal plane.

Right upper quadrant – liver, part of ascending colon and transverse colon, part of duodenum, right kidney.

Left upper quadrant – stomach, part of duodenum, transverse and descending colon, spleen, left kidney,

Right lower quadrant – cecum and appendix, part of ascending colon, small intestines, female gonad, part of bladder

Left lower quadrant – part of descending colon, sphigmoid colon, small intestines, female gonad, part of bladder

9 regions of abdomen.

Right hypochondriac                  epigastric                   left hypchondriac

Right lumbar                                umbilical                     left lumbar

Right iliac                                    hypgastric                  left iliac

Know some organs found in each region. 

The eleven organs systems and their main components and the functional unit for each.

1. Integumentary system

  Epidermis with Stratum Corneum (see chapter 5)
    Skin, hair, nails
 

2. Skeletal system - (see Chapter 6)
  Compact bone
     Osteons
  Spongy bone
     Trabeculae

 

3. Muscular system
  Sarcomere (see Chapter 7)

4. Nervous system

  Neuron (see Chapter 8)

Sensory Nerve Endings
  General senses -
     Cutaneous and tissue sensory nerve endings found all over the body
         touch, stretch, pain, heat, cold, pressure
  Special Senses -

      found only in one place
       eyes -  sight
       ears - hearing
       inner ear - balance/equilibrium
       tongue - taste
       nose - smell

 

5. Endocrine System
  Hormone (see Chapter 10)

 

6. Cardiovascular system
  Blood (see Chapter 11)
  Arteries

  Veins
  Heart

 

7. Lymphatic system
  Lymphocytes (see Chapter 11, white blood cells; Chapter 14, Immune system functions)

 

8. Respiratory System
  Lungs

     Alveoli - (see Chapter 15)

 

9. Digestive system

  Villi (see chapter 3, cells; and Chapter 16, small intestine)

 

10. Urinary system - (see Chapter 18)
  Kidney
      Nephron

  Urinary bladder
 

11. Reproductive system (see Chapter 19)

  gonads - testicles and ovaries
    Gametes - sperm and egg

(These terms should be treated as new vocabulary.)

• Quadrants - note that the quadrants use the midline and the umbilicus as surface boundaries for the quadrants.

  • Right Upper Quadrant

  • Left Upper Quadrant

  • Right Lower Quadrant

  • Left Lower Quadrant

• Regions - note that the regions use the umbilicus as a central, surface identification point, and then use the hip bone, ribcage and other anatomical features to identify each region.

  • Right Hypochondriac Region

  • Right Lumbar Region

  • Right Inguinal/Iliac Region

  • Epigastric Region

  • Umbilical Region

  • Hypogastric Region

  • Left Hypochondriac Region

  • Left Lumbar Region

  • Left Inguinal/Iliac Region