Summary
Palm Beach State College
BSC2085
Professor
January 20, 2020
Chapter 1: Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology
The first chapter in Visual Anatomy and Physiology gives an overview of Anatomy and
Physiology, structural organization of the human body, homeostatic, and explanation of
anatomical terminology. There are different levels of structural organization including:
chemical, cellular, tissue, organ, organ system, and finally the organism level. Lowers
levels are what upper levels built from. In other words, molecules combine to form cells,
cells combine to form tissues, tissues combine to form organs, organs combine to form
organ systems, and organ systems combine to form organisms. Some organisms are
single-celled such as bacteria while others are multi-cellular like animals, humans. The
first chapter also gives an introduction to anatomical terminology which are covered
throughout the book. It is interesting to know that ancient Greek and Latin words are used
to build anatomical terms. The use of anatomical terminology delivers a more precise and
accurate way of describing the relative locations of body structures. “Occipital” definitely
is more precise and simplified than “the back of the head”, while “anterior” and
“posterior” are super helpful in illustrating the front and back of human body. For a firsttime nursing student, it is not easy to get familiar with these terms; however. getting used
to anatomical terminology is one of the keys to be successful in learning about human’s
anatomy and physiology.
The organization of the human body is usually evaluated in terms of different levels of
rising complexity. Before studying the distinct functions and structures of the body, it is
essential to consider the simple framework, that is how the smallest parts combine to
form the larger structures. The human body contains about six significant levels of
structural organization. The organism level is the main level of organization. It defines
the organism and the organs, cells, tissues, molecules, and all the system it contains. It is
the highest level of the structural organization and is the sum of all the structural levels.
Next is the organ system level, which refers to the organs that collaborate to perform
unique roles within the body, such as digestive systems and urinary systems. The third
level is known as the organ level and refers to the body units with dedicated roles that
work together to achieve the aim of a system. For instance, the stomach and intestines
work together to serve the digestive system. The tissue level is the fourth
level. Tissues combine to make organs and are groups of similar cells that cooperate to
perform a role. Examples are epithelial tissues and connective tissues. The fifth level is
the cellular level and is made up of cells, the smallest units of any living matter. Every
type of cell carries out a distinct function within the body. Some organisms are singlecelled (e.g., bacteria) while others are multi-cellular (e.g., humans). The sixth and last
level is known as the chemical level and will be covered in Chapter 2.