Anatomy and Physiology For Dummies

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VARK stands for Visual (learning by seeing), Aural (learning by hearing), Reading/Writing (learning by reading and writing), and Kinesthetic (learning by touching, holding, or feeling).

Each of these major groups, called a kingdom, has its own characteristic anatomy and physiology. It’s evident at a glance to everyone at the beach that a starfish and a human are both animals, while the alga in the tide pool and the cedar tree on the shoreline are both plants. Obvious details of anatomy (the presence or absence of bright green tissue) and physiology (the presence or absence of locomotion) tell that story. The different forms within each kingdom have obvious differences as well: The cedar must stand on the shore but the alga would die there. The starfish can move from one place to another within a limited range, while humans can (theoretically) go anywhere on the planet and, with the appropriate accoutrements of culture (a human adaptation), survive there for at least a while. (That is, assuming the cedar and the alga keep on photosynthesizing.) Scientists use these differences to classify organisms into smaller and smaller groups within the kingdom, until each organism is classified into its own specie-al group. Figure 1-4: Levels of organization in the human body. 9780470923269-fg0104.eps Level I: The cellular level Abdominopelvic cavity: An imaginary line running across the hipbones and dividing the body into the abdominal and pelvic cavities:If you remove all the internal organs, the body is empty except for the bones and tissues that form the space where the organs were. Just as a dental cavity is a hole in a tooth, the body’s cavities are holes where organs are held (see Figure 1-3). The two main cavities are the dorsal cavity and the ventral cavity. Problems can come up when the specialists who use the jargon want to communicate with someone outside their field. The specialists must translate their message into more common terms to communicate it. Problems can also come up when someone approaching a field, such as a student, fails to make progress understanding and speaking the field’s jargon. This book aims to help you make the necessary progress.

Additionally, the abdomen is divided into quadrants and regions. The mid-sagittal plane and a transverse plane intersect at an imaginary axis passing through the body at the navel (belly button). This axis divides the abdomen into quadrants (four sections). Putting an imaginary cross on the abdomen creates the right upper quadrant, left upper quadrant, right lower quadrant, and left lower quadrant. Physicians take note of these areas when a patient describes symptoms of abdominal pain. Base: A substance that becomes ionized when placed in solution, producing negatively charged hydroxide ions, OH –. Bases are referred to as being more alkaline than acids and are known as proton acceptors. Stronger bases separate into larger numbers of OH – ions in solution. To keep anions and cations straight, think like a compulsive dieter: Gaining is negative, and losing is positive. Atoms are made up of the subatomic particles protons and neutrons, which are in the atom’s nucleus, and clouds of electrons orbiting the nucleus. The atomic weight, or mass, of an atom is the total number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus. The atomic number of an atom is its number of protons; conveniently, atoms that are electrically neutral have the same number of positive charges as negative charges. This workbook isn’t a substitute for a textbook, and it is certainly not meant to replace going to an actual anatomy and physiology class.Thoracic cavity:The chest or thorax; contains the heart, lungs, and their associated structures, as well as the esophagus and several glands The organs that belong to one system can have functions integral to another system. In fact, most organs contribute to more than one system. The blood vessels are an excellent example: They serve as a transportation network, delivering nutrients produced by the digestive system to the skeletal muscles to provide energy for locomotion and to the uterus to support the developing fetus. They remove the byproducts of the energy consumed in locomotion and by the fetus in development and carry them to the organs of the urinary system for excretion. Level IV: The organ system level Flash cards, mnemonic drills, practice tests — be creative and practice, practice, practice! The more you know about the format of any upcoming exam, the better. Sometimes instructors share tidbits about what they plan to emphasize, but sometimes they don’t. In the end, if you’ve done the work and put in the time to study and practice with information outside of class, the exact structure and content of an exam shouldn’t make much difference. Sleuth out clues Isotopes: Atoms of an element that have a different number of neutrons and a different atomic weight than usual. In other words, isotopes are alternate forms of the same chemical element, so they always have the same number of protons as that element but a different number of neutrons. Ovaries, uterine tubes, uterus, vagina, and vulva in females; testes, seminal vesicles, prostate, urethra, and penis in males

Medical and crime shows have made body cavities all too familiar, and anatomically speaking, these spaces are very important, providing housing and protection for vital organs. The following list identifies the cavities of the human body. Okay, it’s test time! Take advantage of the test itself. You may find that the answer to an exam question that stumps you is revealed — at least partially — in the phrasing of a subsequent question. Stay alert to these blessed little gifts even when you think that you already understand all the anatomical structures and physiological processes. You won’t be the first student to change an answer after working your way through an exam. Review your mistakes Some biologists specialize in the anatomy and physiology of animals at various hierarchical levels (horses, fish, frogs) or particular organs (mammalian circulatory systems, olfaction in fish, insect hormones). Some focus solely on humans, others concentrate on other species, and still others examine the areas of overlap between humans and other animal species. These various areas of study contribute to human knowledge of biology in general and of clinical medicine in particular. The work of anatomists contributes to medical advances, such as improved surgical techniques and the development of bioengineered prostheses. The laws of thermodynamics are the foundation of how the physics and chemistry of the universe are understood. They’re at the we hold these truths to be self-evident level for chemists and physicists of all specialties, including all biologists. The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed — it can only change form. (Turn to Chapter 16 for a brief look at the first law and other basic laws of chemistry and physics.) Energy changes form continuously — within stars, within engines of all kinds, and, in some very special ways, within organisms. The liquefied food gradually passes into the small intestine. In the first part of the small intestine, called the duodenum, enzymes from the pancreas are added. These enzymes complete the chemical breakdown of the food. The digestion of fat is aided by bile, which is made in the liver and stored in the gall bladder. The small intestine of an adult is about 21 feet (6.4 meters) long. Most of its length is devoted to absorbing the nutrients released during these digestive activities.

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Ovaries, uterine tubes, uterus, vagina, and vulva in females; testes, seminal vesicles, penis, urethra, prostate, and bulbourethral glands in males Human anatomy and physiology are closely related to biology, which is the science of living beings and their relationship with the rest of the universe, including all other living beings. If you’ve studied biology, you understand the basics of how organisms operate. Species Sapiens: All species are given a two-part Latin name, in which the genus name comes first and a species epithet comes second. The biologists who name species sometimes try to use a descriptor in the epithet. For humans, they could have chosen bipedal or talking or hairless, but they chose thinker.