• Anatomy: Study of body structure
• Physiology: Study of function of body
parts
Structure is always related to function
• Developmental Anatomy: Study of structural
changes between conception and adulthood
• Embryology: Study of the changes in fetus,
Changes from conception to the eighth week
• Gross or macroscopic: structures examined
without a microscope – naked eyes
– Systemic: body is studied system by
system
– Regional: body is studied area by area
– Surface: study of external form of body and
relation to deeper structures
• Microscopic: structures seen with
the microscope
– Cytology: study structural feature
of cells
– Histology: study of tissues
Physiology: Study of
function of body parts or living
things
Goal of physiology is to
understand how stuff works
 How do muscles contract?
 How do we run?
 How does our heart beat?
– Cell physiology: examines functioning of
cells
– Systemic physiology: studies functions of
organ systems
– Neurophysiology: focuses on the
nervous system
– Cardiovascular physiology: the heart
and blood vessels
• Pathology: structural and functional
changes caused by disease
• Exercise Physiology: changes in
structure and function caused by
exercise
 Six levels of Organization
of body
• Chemical Level:
- atoms
- atoms combine & form molecules
- eg. Water, sugar, DNA
• Cellular Level: Molecules
combine – organelles
• eg. Nucleus, Mitochondria
• a cell is a collection of organelles
functioning together
• Cell - Smallest unit of life
• Cell is the basic structural and
functional unit of plants and animals
 Tissue Level: group of similar
cells and the materials
surrounding them
 Organ Level: one or more
tissues functioning together
 Organ System Level: group
of organs functioning together
 Organism Level: any living
thing, eg. Human
 Integumentary System
 Eg. Skin, glands, hair, nails
 Forms the external body
covering
 Protects deeper tissue from
injury
 Synthesizes vitamin D
 Location of cutaneous
nerve receptors
 regulates temperature
 Skeletal System
 Bones, ligaments, tendons
 Protects and supports
body organs: brain, heart,
reproductive organs
 Provides muscle
attachment for movement
 Site of blood cell
formation
 Stores minerals
Muscular System
 Skeletal muscles, smooth muscles,
cardiac muscles
 Allows locomotion and
movement of contents through the
organs
 Maintains posture
 Produces heat
Nervous System
 Consists of brain, spinal cord,
nerves, sensory receptors
 Fast-acting control
system
 Responds to internal and external
change
 Activates body effectors (muscles
and
glands)
 Endocrine System
 Endocrine glands: pineal, pituitary, thyroid,
thymus, adrenal, pancreas, testis and ovaries
 Secretes regulatory
hormones
 Growth
 Reproduction
 Metabolism
Cardiovascular System
 Heart, Blood vessels
 Transports materials in body via blood pumped by
heart




Oxygen
Carbon dioxide
Nutrients
Wastes
Lymphatic System
 Lymphatic vessels, lymphatic glands,
lymph nodes and lymph organs such as
spleen, tonsils
 Returns fluids to blood vessels
 Cleanses the blood
 Involve in immunity
Respiratory System
Nasal cavity, pharynx,
larynx, trachea, bronchi,
lungs
 Keeps blood supplied with
oxygen
 Removes carbon dioxide
 Production of sound
Digestive System
Mouth, esophagus, stomach,
intestine, anus, liver, pancreas
 Breaks down food
 Allows for nutrient absorption into blood
 Eliminates indigestible material
Urinary System
Kidney, ureter, urinary bladder,
urethra
 Eliminates nitrogenous wastes
 Regulates water and electrolytes
 Maintains acid – base balance
Reproductive System
 Testis, penis, accessory glands,
vas deferens
 Ovary, uterine tube, uterus
vagina
 Production of sex cells: eggs
and sperms
 Production of offspring
 Most common feature of Organism is life
 Characteristics of life:
 Organization: Specific relationships between the parts
of organism and their functions
 Disruption of organized state – result in loss of functions
 Metabolism: all chemical reactions of the body
• Facilitated by digestive, respiratory, cardiovascular ,
endocrine systems
– Production of energy
– Making body structures
– Metabolism is necessary for growth, development,
reproduction
 Responsiveness: ability to sense changes and adjust
 Growth: increase in size and/or number of cells
 Development: changes in an organism over time
 From fertilization to death
 Reproduction: Formation of new cells or new
organisms
• Homeostasis: Maintenance of a stable internal
environment of the body
• Internal environment is the interstitial fluid
surrounding the cells
• Some of the body parameters kept in a steady state:
• Body temperature: regulated close to 370C
• Blood pH: kept at 7.4
• Arterial blood pressure: maintain
around 120/80 mm Hg
• Failure of homeostasis causes
diseases and sometimes death
• Homeostatic Mechanisms – monitor aspects of
the internal environment and corrects any changes
• Eg. Sweating, shivering maintain body temperature
near set point (ideal normal value)
• Fluctuate around the set point to establish a normal
range of values
• Two types: negative and positive Feedback
• Negative Feedback : maintains homeostasis
• Three components:
– Receptor: monitors the value of some variable
– Control center: Receives information about variable
from receptor & establishes the set point and controls
the effector
– Effector: can change the value of the variable
• Not homeostatic, rare in healthy individuals
• If change occurs in some variable, system responds to the
change in the same direction
– Eg. after hemorrhage, blood pressure drops and the heart’s ability to
pump blood decreases
– Which causes blood pressure to drop further
– And homeostasis is not maintained
– Normal positive feedback: childbirth
• Anatomical Position
– Person standing erect, face
forward, feet together, palms
face forward
• Other Body Positions
– Supine: lying face upward
– Prone: lying face downward
• Directional Terms – Describe parts of
the body relative to each other
– Superior (Cephalic) – up, toward the
head
– Inferior (Caudal) – down, toward the tail
– Medial – toward midline
– Lateral – away from midline
– Proximal – nearest to trunk
– Distal – distant to trunk
– Proximal and distal terms are used when
referring to limb
• Superficial - near the outer
surface of the organism
eg. skin is superficial to the muscle
layer
• Deep - away from the surface of
the organism
eg. Muscle layer is deep to the skin
• Anterior or Ventral – front
• Posterior or Dorsal – back
• Terminology for different parts of
the body:
• Upper limb is divided into:
• Arm, forearm, wrist and hand
•Arm: extends from shoulder – elbow
•Forearm: extends from elbow – wrist
• Lower limb is divided into:
• Thigh, leg, ankle and foot
•Thigh: extends from hip – knee
•Leg: extends from knee – ankle
•Central region of the body
consists of:
• Head, neck and trunk
•Trunk can be divided into:
•Thorax: chest
•Abdomen: region between thorax
and pelvis, inferior to ribs
•Pelvis: Inferior end of the trunk
associated with hip
• Abdomen is sometimes
divided into quadrants by two
imaginary line which intersect
at navel
• Right-upper quadrant
• Left-upper quadrant
• Right-lower quadrant
• Left-lower quadrant
• Abdomen is sometimes divided
into nine regions by four
imaginary lines:
• Epigastric
• Right and left hypochondriac
• Umbilical region
• Right and left lumbar
• Hypogastric
• Right and left iliac
•
Physicians use the quadrants
and regions as a reference
point to locate underlying organs
 In order to look at the internal structure of
the body, medical professionals divide
the body into different sections or
imaginary planes passing through it
 Sagittal Plane: Runs vertically through the
body, separating into R and L portions
 Median or Midsagittal Plane: Is a sagittal
plane, passes through midline of body,
divide into equal R & L halves
 Frontal or Coronal: divides body into
anterior and posterior sections
 Transverse / Cross: Runs parallel to
ground, divides body into superior and
inferior sections
Planes of Section Through an Organ
• To observe the internal
structure, organs are
sectioned:
• Longitudinal: cut along
the length of an organ
• Cross/Transverse: cut at
right angle to length of the
organ
• Oblique: cut at any but a
right angle
• Body Cavities: Spaces within
the body contain internal organs
• Two sets of body cavity
• Dorsal body cavity
– Cranial cavity - houses the
brain
– Spinal cavity - houses the
spinal cord
• Ventral body Cavity:
• contains 3 cavities:
• Thoracic, abdomen, pelvic
• Thoracic cavity: surrounded
by rib cage, contains heart,
thymus, trachea, esophagus,
lungs
• Mediastinum : Central region divide
thoracic cavity into R and L parts
• Lungs are located on each
side of mediastinum
• Diaphragm separates thoracic
cavity from abdominal cavity
• Abdominal cavity: Contains
stomach, intestines, liver,
spleen, pancreas, kidneys
• Surrounded by abdominal
muscles
• Pelvic cavity: Contains urinary
bladder, part of large intestine,
internal reproductive organs
• Surrounded by pelvic bones
• Abdominal and pelvic cavity is
not physically separated –
Abdominopelvic cavity
• Serous membrane: Walls of the body
cavity and outer surface of the
organs are covered by thin tissue
membrane known as serous
membrane
• Serous membranes occur in pairs
separated by serous fluid
– Visceral layer covers the outside
of the organ
– Parietal layer lines a portion of
the wall of ventral body cavity
• Thoracic cavity contains 3 serous
membranes:
• Serous membrane in the pleural
(lung) cavity is called PLEURA
• Visceral Pleura: Membrane surrounds
the surface of lungs
• Parietal Pleura: Lines the inner
surface of thoracic wall
• Serous membrane in the pericardial
(heart) cavity is called PERICARDIUM
• Serous membrane in the
abdominopelvic cavity is called
PERITONEUM