HUMAN ANATOMY &

PHYSIOLOGY
ANATOMY
ANATOMY
Derived from the Greek word anatemn I cut up, cut open
is the scientific study of the structure of organisms including their systems,
organs, and tissues. It includes the appearance and position of the various parts,
the materials from which they are composed, their locations and their
relationships with other parts. Anatomy is quite distinct
from physiology and biochemistry, which deal respectively with the functions of
those parts and the chemical processes involved.
For example, an anatomist is concerned with the shape, size, position, structure,
blood supply and innervation of an organ such as the liver, while a physiologist is
interested in the production of bile and the role of the liver in nutrition and the
regulation of bodily functions.
ANATOMY
The discipline of anatomy can be subdivided into a number of branches including
gross or macroscopic anatomy and microscopic anatomy.
Gross anatomy is the study of structures that are large enough to be seen with the
naked eye, and also includes superficial anatomy or surface anatomy, the study by
sight of the external body features.
Microscopic anatomy is the study of structures on a microscopic scale,
including histology (the study of tissues), and embryology (the study of an organism
in its immature condition).
Anatomy can be studied using both invasive and non-invasive methods with the goal
of obtaining information about the structure and organization of organs and
systems. Methods used include dissection, in which a body is opened and its organs
studied, and endoscopy, in which a video camera-equipped instrument is inserted
through a small incision in the body wall and used to explore the internal organs and
other structures. Angiography using X-rays or magnetic resonance angiography are
methods to visualize blood vessels.

PHYSIOL
OGY
PHYSIOLOGY
from Ancient Greek word physis, meaning "nature, origin", and logia ,
meaning "study of
is the scientific study of function in living systems.
A sub-discipline of biology, its focus is in how organisms, organ
systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical
functions that exist in a living system.
Given the size of the field it is divided into, among others: human
physiology, animal physiology, plant physiology, cellular physiology, microbial
physiology, bacterial physiology, viral physiology.
HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY
Human physiology is the science of the mechanical, physical, bioelectrical,
and biochemical functions of humans in good health, their organs, and
the cells of which they are composed. Physiology focuses principally at the
level of organs and systems. Most aspects of human physiology are
closely homologous to corresponding aspects of animal physiology,
and animal experimentation has provided much of the foundation of
physiological knowledge. Anatomy and physiology are closely related fields
of study: anatomy, the study of form, and physiology, the study of function,
are intrinsically related and are studied in tandem as part of a medical
curriculum.
The study of how physiology is altered in disease is pathophysiology.

THE HUMAN
STRUCTURE
THE HUMAN ORGANISM
In most biological respects, humans are like other living organisms. For
instance, they are made up of cells like those of other animals, have much
the same chemical composition, have organ systems and physical
characteristics like many others, reproduce in a similar way, carry the same
kind of genetic information system, and are part of a food web.
THE HIERARCHY OF
COMPLEXITY
The organism is composed of organ systems,
organ systems are composed of organs,
organs are composed of tissues,
tissues are composed of cells,
cells are composed partly of organelles,
organelles are composed of molecules, and
molecules are composed of atoms.
The organism is a single, complete individual.

An organ system is a group of organs with a unique collective function,
such as circulation, respiration, or digestion. The human body has 11 organ
systems : the integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine,
circulatory, lymphatic, respiratory, urinary, digestive, and reproductive
systems. Usually, the organs of one system are physically interconnected,
such as the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra, which compose
the urinary system.



Systems of protection, support, and
movement
Integumentary system
Skeletal system
Muscular system


Systems of internal communication and
integration
Nervous system
Endocrine system

Systems of fluid transport
Circulatory system
Lymphatic system


Systems of input and output
Respiratory system
Urinary system
Digestive system


Systems of reproduction
Male reproductive system
Female reproductive system

An organ is a structure composed of two or more tissue types that work
together to carry out a particular function. Organs have definite anatomical
boundaries and are visibly distinguishable from adjacent structures. Most
organs and higher levels of structure are within the domain of gross
anatomy. However, there are organs within organsthe large organs visible
to the naked eye often contain smaller organs visible only with the
microscope. The skin, for example, is the bodys largest organ. Included
within it are thousands of smaller organs: Each hair, nail, gland, nerve, and
blood vessel of the skin is an organ in itself. A single organ can belong to two
organ systems. For example, the pancreas belongs to both the endocrine
and digestive systems.
A tissue is a mass of similar cells and cell products that forms a discrete
region of an organ and performs a specific function. The body is composed
of only four primary classes of tissue: epithelial, connective, nervous, and
muscular tissue.

Cells are the smallest units of an organism that carry out all the basic
functions of life; nothing simpler than a cell is considered alive. A cell is
enclosed in a plasma membrane composed of lipids and proteins. Most cells
have one nucleus, an organelle that contains its DNA. Cytology is the study
of cells and organelles.
Organelles are microscopic structures in a cell that carry out its individual
functions. Examples include mitochondria, centrioles, and lysosomes.
Organelles and other cellular components are composed of molecules. The
largest molecules, such as proteins, fats, and DNA, are
called macromolecules. A molecule is a particle composed of at least
two atoms, the smallest particles with unique chemical identities.

ANATOMICAL VARIATION
Anatomists, surgeons, and students must be constantly aware of how much
one body can differ from another. A quick look around any classroom is
enough to show that no two humans are exactly alike; on close inspection,
even identical twins exhibit differences.
Some people lack certain organs. For example, most of us have a palmaris
longus muscle in the forearm and a plantaris muscle in the leg, but these are
absent from others. Most of us have five lumbar vertebrae (bones of the
lower spine), but some people have six and some have four. Most of us have
one spleen and two kidneys, but some have two spleens or only one kidney.
Most kidneys are supplied by a single renal artery and are drained by
one ureter, but some have two renal arteries or ureters.
HUMAN FUNCTION
CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
As living organisms, we can respond to our surroundings.
Our bodies grow, eventually becoming able to reproduce.
We gain energy by ingesting (taking in), digesting (breaking down),
absorbing, and assimilating the nutrients in food.
The absorbed substances circulate throughout the internal environment of
our bodies. We can then, by the process of respiration, use the energy in
these nutrients for such vital functions as growth and repair of tissues.
Finally, we excrete wastes. Taken together, these physical and chemical
events that obtain, release, and use energy are a major part of metabolism,
all of the chemical reactions in cells.
Process Examples
Movement Change in position of the body or of a body
part; motion of an internal organ
Responsiveness Reaction to a change inside or outside the body
Growth Increase in body size without change in shape
Reproduction Production of new organisms and new cells
Respiration Obtaining oxygen, removing carbon dioxide,
and releasing energy from foods (some forms of
life do not use oxygen in respiration)
Digestion Breakdown of food substances into simpler
forms that can be absorbed and used
Absorption Passage of substances through membranes
and into body fluids
Circulation Movement of substances in body fluids
Assimilation Changing of absorbed substances into different
chemical forms
Excretion Removal of wastes produced by metabolic
reactions
From a biological viewpoint, life is not a single property. It is a collection of
properties that help to distinguish living from non-living things:
MAINTENANCE OF LIFE
With the exception of an organisms reproductive system, which perpetuates the
species, all body structures and functions work in ways that maintain life.

Requirements of Organisms
Human life depends upon the following environmental factors:
1. Water is the most abundant substance in the body. It is required for a variety of
metabolic processes, and it provides the environment in which most of them take
place. Water also transports substances in organisms and is important in regulating
body temperature.
2. Food refers to substances that provide organisms with necessary chemicals
(nutrients) in addition to water. Nutrients supply energy and raw materials for building
new living matter.
3. Oxygen is a gas that makes up about one-fifth of the air. It is used to release
energy from nutrients. The energy, in turn, is used to drive metabolic processes.
4. Heat is a form of energy present in our environment. It is also a product of
metabolic reactions, and it partly controls the rate at which these reactions occur.
Generally, the more heat, the more rapidly chemical reactions take place.
Temperature is a measure of the amount of heat present.
5. Pressure is an application of force on an object or substance. For example, the
force acting on the outside of a land organism due to the weight of air above it is
called atmospheric pressure. In humans, this pressure plays an important role in
breathing. Similarly, organisms living under water are subjected to hydrostatic
pressurea pressure a liquid exertsdue to the weight of water above them. In
complex animals, such as humans, heart action produces blood pressure (another
form of hydrostatic pressure), which keeps blood flowing through blood vessels.

PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIATION
Physiological variables differ with sex, age, weight, diet, degree of physical
activity, and environment, among other things. Failure to consider such
variation leads to medical mistakes such as overmedication of the elderly or
medicating women on the basis of research that was done on men. If an
introductory textbook states a typical human heart rate, blood pressure, red
blood cell count, or body temperature, it is generally assumed that such
values are for a healthy young adult unless otherwise stated. The standards
for such general values are the reference man and reference woman.
The reference man is defined as a healthy male 22 years old, weighing 70 kg
(154 lb.), living at a mean ambient (surrounding) temperature of 20C,
engaging in light physical activity, and consuming 2,800 kilocalories (kcal)
per day.
The reference woman is the same except for a weight of 58 kg (128 lb.) and
an intake of 2,000 kcal/day.
HOMEOSTASIS AND
NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
The human body has a remarkable capacity for self-
restoration.


This tendency results from homeostasis, the bodys ability
to detect change, activate mechanisms that oppose it, and
thereby maintain relatively stable internal conditions.
A characteristic of all living systems is homeostasis, or the maintenance of
stable, internal conditions within specific limits. In many cases, stable
conditions are maintained by negative feedback.

In negative feedback, a sensing mechanism (a receptor) detects a change in
conditions beyond specific limits. A control centre, or integrator (often the
brain), evaluates the change and activates a second mechanism (an effector)
to correct the condition; for example, cells that either remove or add glucose to
the blood in an effort to maintain homeostasis are effectors. Conditions are
constantly monitored by receptors and evaluated by the control centre. When
the control centre determines that conditions have returned to normal,
corrective action is discontinued. Thus, in negative feedback, the variant
condition is cancelled, or negated, so that conditions are returned to normal.
EXAMPLE A CASE OF
HOMEOSTATIC CONTROL OF
BLOOD PRESSURE
When you first rise from bed in the morning, gravity causes some of your blood to drain
away from your head and upper torso, resulting in falling blood pressure in this regiona
local imbalance in your homeostasis. This is detected by sensory nerve endings
called baroreceptors in the large arteries near the heart. They transmit nerve signals to the
brainstem, where we have a cardiac centre that regulates the heart rate. The cardiac centre
responds by transmitting nerve signals to the heart, which speed it up. The faster heart rate
quickly raises the blood pressure and restores normal homeostasis. In elderly people, this
feedback loop is sometimes insufficiently responsive, and they may feel dizzy as they rise
from a reclining position and their cerebral blood pressure falls. This sometimes causes
fainting.
This reflexive correction of blood pressure (baroreflex) illustrates three common, although
not universal, components of a feedback loop: a receptor, an integrating centre, and an
effector. The receptor is a structure that senses a change in the body, such as the stretch
receptors that monitor blood pressure. The integrating (control) centre, such as the
cardiac centre of the brain, is a mechanism that processes this information, relates it to
other available information (for example, comparing what the blood pressure is with what it
should be), and makes a decision about what the appropriate response should be. The
effector is the cell or organ that carries out the final corrective action. In the foregoing
example, it is the heart. The response, such as the restoration of normal blood pressure, is
then sensed by the receptor, and the feedback loop is complete.

POSITIVE FEEDBACK AND
RAPID CHANGE

Positive feedback is a
self-amplifying cycle in
which a physiological
change leads to even
greater change in the
same direction, rather than
producing the corrective
effects of negative
feedback. Positive
feedback is often a normal
way of producing rapid
change. When a woman is
giving birth, for example,
the head of the fetus
pushes against her cervix
(the neck of the uterus)
and stimulates its nerve
endings.
Frequently, however, positive feedback is a harmful or even life-threatening
process. This is because its self-amplifying nature can quickly change the
internal state of the body to something far from its homeostatic set point.
Consider a high fever, for example. A fever triggered by infection is beneficial
up to a point, but if the body temperature rises much above 40C (104F), it
may create a dangerous positive feedback loop. This high temperature
raises the metabolic rate, which makes the body produce heat faster than it
can get rid of it. Thus, temperature rises still further, increasing the metabolic
rate and heat production still more. This vicious circle becomes fatal at
approximately 45C (113F). Thus, positive feedback loops often create
dangerously out-of-control situations that require emergency medical
treatment.