IHS Chap 1 and 3

• Human anatomy and physiology is the study of the structure and function of the human body.
• Anatomy is the scientific discipline that investigates the structure of body parts, their microscopic organization, the processes by which they develop, and the relationship between the structure of a body part and its function.
• Physiology is the scientific discipline that deals with the processes or functions of living things.
• The major goals for studying physiology are to understand and predict the body’s responses to stimuli and to understand how the body maintains internal conditions within a narrow range of values in the presence of continually changing internal and external environments.
• The levels of organization for the human body include the chemical level, cellular level, tissue level, organ level, organ system level, and organism level.
• The characteristics of life include organization, metabolism, responsiveness, growth, development, and reproduction.
• Homeostasis is the ability to maintain a relatively constant environment within the body.
• The internal environment of the body is in a dynamic state of equilibrium.
• Chemical, thermal, and neural factors interact to maintain homeostasis.
• Normal cell functions depend on the maintenance of the cells’ fluid environment within a narrow range of conditions called variables: temperature, volume, and chemical content.
• Specific regional terminology is also used in anatomy, such as anterior view and posterior view.
• Negative feedback is exemplified in thermoregulation.
• The three components of negative feedback are the receptor/sensor, which monitors the value of a variable; the control center/integrator, which receives information about the variable from the receptor, establishes the set point, and controls the effector; and the effector, which produces responses that change the value of the variable.
• The position of the body (sitting, standing, etc.) can affect the description of body parts relative to each other, and to avoid confusion, relational descriptions are always based on the anatomical position, no matter the actual position of the body.
• Abdominopelvic quadrants are also used in anatomy, such as right upper (RUQ) and left upper (LUQ).
• Positive feedback mechanisms occur when the initial stimulus further stimulates the response, meaning positive means that the deviation from the set point becomes even greater.
• Positive feedback is exemplified in childbirth.
• Directional terms are used in anatomy, such as axial (head, neck, and trunk) and appendicular (appendages or limbs).
• Negative feedback in a feedback loop is a deviation from the set point that is restricted or made smaller.
• The Visceral Peritoneum (visceral serous membrane) lines the peritoneal cavity.
• Peritoneal fluid (serous fluid) separates the serous membranes.
• The Thoracic Cavity houses the heart and lungs and contains 3 serous membrane-lined cavities: the Pericardial Cavity, Pleural Cavities, and the Right Pleural Cavity.
• Serous membranes cover the organs of the trunk cavities and line the trunk cavities.
• Body Planes are used in sectioning the body to observe the body’s structures.
• Cuenca - Ocay Abdominopelvic Regions contain the organs of the abdominopelvic cavities such as the umbilical, epigastric, hypogastric, right and left iliac or inguinal, right and left lumbar, right and left hypochondriac.
• The Pericardial Cavity surrounds the heart.
• Pleural cavity surround each of the lung.
• The Parietal Peritoneum (parietal serous membrane) lines the peritoneal cavity.
• The Abdominopelvic Cavity contains a serous membrane-lined cavity called the peritoneal cavity.
• Body Cavities serve as a hydrostatic skeleton, an area for growth and development of the internal organs, and as a storage area responsible for the passage of materials in and out of the organs such as nutrients, gases, and wastes through diffusion in a wider surface area in the cavity.