What Is Anatomy and Physiology?

#Anatomy is the study of the structure and relationship between body parts.

#Physiology is the study of the function of body parts and the body as a whole. Some specializations
within each of these sciences follow:

*Gross (macroscopic) anatomy is the study of body parts visible to the naked eye, such as the heart or
bones.

*Histology is the study of tissues at the microscopic level.

*Cytology is the study of cells at the microscopic level.

*Neurophysiology is the study of how the nervous system functions.

Organizations of living systems

Living systems can be defined from various perspectives, from the broad (looking at the entire earth) to
the minute (individual atoms). Each perspective provides information about how or why a living system
functions:

At the chemical level, atoms, molecules (combinations of atoms), and the chemical bonds between
atoms provide the framework upon which all living activity is based.

The cell is the smallest unit of life. Organelles within the cell are specialized bodies performing specific
cellular functions. Cells themselves may be specialized. Thus, there are nerve cells, bone cells, and
muscle cells.

A tissue is a group of similar cells performing a common function. Muscle tissue, for example, consists of
muscle cells.

An organ is a group of different kinds of tissues working together to perform a particular activity. The
heart is an organ composed of muscle, nervous, connective, and epithelial tissues.

An organ system is two or more organs working together to accomplish a particular task. The digestive
system, for example, involves the coordinated activities of many organs, including the mouth, stomach,
small and large intestines, pancreas, and liver.
An organism is a system possessing the characteristics of living things—the ability to obtain and process
energy, the ability to respond to environmental changes, and the ability to reproduce.

Homeostasis

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 center, 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 center. When the control center determines that conditions have
returned to normal, corrective action is discontinued. Thus, in negative feedback, the variant condition is
canceled, or negated, so that conditions are returned to normal.

The regulation of glucose concentration in the blood illustrates how homeostasis is maintained by
negative feedback. After a meal, the absorption of glucose (a sugar) from the digestive tract increases
the amount of glucose in the blood. In response, specialized cells in the pancreas (alpha cells) secrete
the hormone insulin, which circulates through the blood and stimulates liver and muscle cells to absorb
the glucose. Once blood glucose levels return to normal, insulin secretion stops. Later, perhaps after
heavy exercise, blood glucose levels may drop because muscle cells absorb glucose from the blood and
use it as a source of energy for muscle contraction. In response to falling blood glucose levels, another
group of specialized pancreatic cells (beta cells) secretes a second hormone, glucagon. Glucagon
stimulates the liver to release its stored glucose into the blood. When blood glucose levels return to
normal, glucagon secretion stops.

Compare this with positive feedback, in which an action intensifies a condition so that it is driven farther
beyond normal limits. Such positive feedback is uncommon but does occur during blood clotting,
childbirth (labor contractions), lactation (where milk production increases in response to an increase in
nursing), and sexual orgasm.

Anatomic terminology

In order to accurately identify areas of the body, clearly defined anatomical terms are used. These terms
refer to the body in the anatomical position—standing erect, facing forward, arms down at the side, with
the palms turned forward. In this position, the following apply:
*Directional terms are used to describe the relative position of one body part to another. These terms
are listed in Table 1.

Body planes and sections are used to describe how the body or an organ is divided into two parts:

-Sagittal planes divide a body or organ vertically into right and left parts. If the right and left parts are
equal, the plane is a midsagittal plane; if they're unequal, the plane is a parasagittal plane.

-A frontal (coronal) plane divides the body or organ vertically into front (anterior) and rear (posterior)
parts.

-A horizontal (transverse) plane divides the body or organ horizontally into top (superior) and bottom
(inferior) parts. This is also known as a cross-section.

•Body cavities are enclosed areas that house organs. These cavities are organized into two groups:

•The posterior/dorsal body cavity includes the cranial cavity (which contains the brain) and the vertebral
cavity (which contains the spinal cord).

•The anterior/ventral body cavity includes the thoracic cavity (which contains the lungs, each in its own
pleural cavity, and the heart, in the pericardial cavity) and the abdominopelvic cavity (which contains the
digestive organs in the abdominal cavity and the bladder and reproductive organs in the pelvic cavity).

*Regional terms identify specific areas of the body. In some cases, a descriptive word is used to identify
the location. For example, the axial region refers to the main axis of the body—the head, neck, and
trunk. The appendicular region refers to the appendages—the arms and legs. Other regional terms use a
body part to identify a particular region of the body. For example, the nasal region refers to the nose.

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-Galileo