Human Anatomy & Physiology

• Why Read the Textbook?

  Textbooks are hard, full of unfamiliar words. But it's because of all those unfamiliar words - they are the new vocabulary that you will have to learn in order to continue in the Health Sciences.
• A lot of the unfamiliar words appear in the lecture notes, but not all. You only attend lecture 3 hours a week, and the lectures can only cover the most important points, the rest you have to learn on your own and the textbook has it all.
• How to Study


  1. First read the assigned text before the lecture to better understand the lecture and be able to ask questions

  2. Second read the text again after class to reinforce what you have heard and concentrate on the key points and vocabulary

  3. Third read your notes and review the Powerpoint presentation to make sure you understand everything
• How to Study II

  1. Go over the lecture objectives in the syllabus to see if you can answer them

  2. Meet in a study group to go over the material again to eliminate 'blind spots'

  3. Take the practice test I will provide, but do not study from it as it only covers a portion of what you must know
• Levels of Anatomy


  • Gross Anatomy (study by inspection - organs and major structures)
  • Histology (study of tissues and cells that make up the organs)
  • Cytology (study of cell structure of particular cell types)
  • Molecular Biology (study of the molecules that make up the organism)
• Scientific Theory


  There are underlying truths to explain all of the observed universe and these truths can be discovered by testing. If something is untestable, it is not science.
• Scientific Method


  1. Hypothesis (testable guess as to an underlying truth)

  2. Experiment (testing of the hypothesis)

  3. Data (information derived from experiments)

  4. Theory (hypothesis supported by data)

  5. Scientific Fact (theory tested exhaustibly, rare)
• Systemic Anatomy


  Theoretical approach to the integration of anatomy with physiology, or structure as it relates to function. We divide the body into Organ Systems, each one carrying out a specific set of functions.
• Aspects of Physiology


  • Morphology (study of shape related to function)
  • Embryology (study of development, how organisms arise from primordial cells)
  • Biochemistry (study of all chemical interactions in an organism)
  • Pathology (study of how homeostasis is not maintained in an organism)
• In this course we will concentrate on how the body should function, but for every correct way to function there are hundreds of ways it might not function properly.
• Pathology


  The science that tries to categorize each dysfunction by describing its etiology, diagnosis, and prognosis (the cause and course of a disease). It is so complex that medical doctors have to specialize on specific types in order to be expert.
• Homeostasis


  It is NOT a steady state, but rather a state of health where the body maintains a 'set point' through negative feedback mechanisms.
• Positive Feedback


  A less common mechanism that reinforces and magnifies a change rather than reversing it, like the blood clotting mechanism.
• As we age, maintaining homeostasis becomes progressively more difficult. Tissue repair is slower, un-replaced tissues wear down, and feedback mechanisms become less responsive.
• What we can achieve is a "normal" level of function, which is a statistical average of a population. There is always a range for what is normal, but normal is not necessarily healthy (e.g. reduced joint flexibility in an 80 year old).