anatomy and physiology

• There are three types of muscle tissue: skeletal, cardiac, and smooth.
• Skeletal muscle tissue consists of cells that are long and thin, called fibers.
• Skeletal muscle tissue has many nuclei per cell, the longest fibers that extend the length of the whole muscle, and functions to move the whole body or body parts.
• Cardiac muscle tissue is striated, involuntary, has one nucleus per cell, and functions to pump blood.
• At very low concentrations, hormones can have prolonged effects.
• General functions of hormones include regulating metabolism, water and electrolyte balance, coping with stress, growth and development, reproduction, RBC production, and digestion/absorption.
• Glands that have endocrine function include the Hypothalamus/Pituitary (anterior and posterior), Thyroid, Parathyroid, Adrenal (cortex and medulla), Pancreas, Pineal, Ovaries and Testes, Thymus, and other organs.
• Hormones include neurohormones and tropic hormones which regulate the hormone secretion of other glands.
• Smooth muscle tissue is not striated, involuntary, has one nucleus per cell, and functions to move substances through hollow organs.
• Skeletal muscle tissue is excitable and can respond to stimuli like neurotransmitters or hormones with electrical signals.
• Skeletal muscle tissue is contractile and has the ability to develop tension, meaning a muscle fiber may shorten.
• Skeletal muscle tissue is extensible and can stretch.
• Skeletal muscle tissue is elastic and assumes its original length after stretching.
• Skeletal muscle tissue is associated with connective tissue, which includes superficial fascia, areolar & adipose, deep fascia, and less coarse connective tissue layers.
• Skeletal muscle tissue is also associated with connective tissue that is continuous with the tendons that attach the muscle to the periosteum of bone.
• The internal nose consists of the internal nares, which open to the throat, and the pharynx, which is an air passageway with three parts: the nasopharynx, oropharynx, and laryngopharynx.
• Gas transport is a function of the cardiovascular system which carries O2 to tissues and CO2 back to lungs.
• Other functions of the respiratory system include acid/base balance, route for water and heat loss.
• External respiration is the gas exchange between lung air sacs and blood.
• The bronchi and bronchial tree consist of right and left primary bronchi, secondary bronchi which supply each lobe of lung, and tertiary (segmental) bronchi which are further branches.
• Pulmonary ventilation, or breathing, is a major function of the respiratory system.
• The external nose functions to moisten, warm, and filter air.
• The nasal cavity is divided into the airway, which is lined with pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium, and the nasal conchae, which are projections in the cavity.
• Gas exchange occurs when O2 is inhaled and CO2 is exhaled.
• The larynx, or voice box, is an air passageway made up of cartilages, ligaments, muscles, and contains the vocal folds.
• The trachea, or windpipe, is an air passageway with three layers: mucosa, submucosa, and adventitia.
• The walls of the bronchi past the primary bronchi become irregular plates of cartilage.
• Terminal bronchioles, which are less than .5 mm in diameter, lead to the air sacs of the lungs.
• Skeletal muscle cells are very large, 10 - 100 µm in diameter, may be many cm long, and contain glycogen and myoglobin.
• Periaqueductal gray matter is involved in sympathetic responses like increased heart rate and blood pressure and pain suppression.
• Pituitary is connected to hypothalamus by infundibulum, has two lobes: anterior lobe is glandular tissue, produces and secretes hormones in response to hormones released from the hypothalamus, posterior lobe is nervous tissue, stores hormones produced by the hypothalamus and releases them in response to electrical signals from hypothalamus.
• Thalamus consists of masses of gray matter and tracts of white matter, two sides connected by intermediate mass, made up of several nuclei, each with a functional specialty.
• Pineal gland is part of endocrine system and produces melatonin which helps regulate the biological clock.
• Corpus striatum consists of caudate nucleus, lentiform nucleus, amygdala, and hypothalamus.
• Hypothalamus consists of many functionally grouped nuclei, integrating center for homeostasis, links the ANS and endocrine system, regulates body temperature, water balance, food intake, controls endocrine functioning, and plays a role in emotional and behavioral patterns.
• Diencephalon consists of Epithalamus and Thalamus.
• Brain Stem consists of Midbrain, Pons, and Medulla Oblongata.
• Midbrain consists of cerebral peduncles which carry motor and sensory fiber tracts, superior cerebellar peduncles which carry info from cerebellum toward cortex, and reflex centers like superior colliculi and inferior colliculi.
• Amygdala is functionally part of limbic system and is mostly important in motor pathways that communicate with cortex.
• Substantia nigra and red nucleus are involved in motor pathways and interact with basal nuclei.