Chapter I - Introduction to Anatomy

and Physiology
 Anatomy is the study of internal and external structures & Physiology is the study of
their functions (naming= anatomy vs doing = physiology)
 There are different types of Anatomy
o Microscopic level
 Cytology – study of cells
 Histology – study of tissues
• Tissue is a collection of cells that work together for a
particular function
o Macroscopic level
 Gross anatomy - body regions
 Types of Physiology (how things work)
o Cellular level
o Tissue level
o Organ level
o Systemic level
*It is crucial that we understand the normal physiology to recognize if something is
wrong.
 Pathology is the study of disease
o Maintain balance in physiology or you will get sick/can die
o Pathology = when things go wrong (disease)
o Disease is caused because there is an imbalance – disruption of homeostasis

 Organelles are the individual little parts inside of the cells – put organelles together and
get a cell

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 o Organize hundreds of cells into 4 tissues
 Tissues form organs (11 different organ systems which make us up)
 There are 11 body systems

 Integumentary system is outside covering of us (hair, skin, and nails) [skin is largest
organ]
o An organ is a collection of tissues that work together to carry
o Under skin is muscles
 Skeletal muscles pull bones for movement (206 bones)
 Nervous system controls body parts – nothing happens until this tells it to happen

 Endocrine system controls our hormones this along with the nervous system works to
make us balanced.
 Cardiovascular system – hormones travel through blood

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  O2 in and CO2 out – we need it for Energy (ATP which is made at mitochondria)
 Immune system is what keeps us healthy and determines what is supposed to be there
 Antigen: Doesn’t belong to us (something foreign)
o Our immune system makes antibodies to fight antigen infections
 Digestive system breaks down food so we can do something with the food (make
energy)

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 Homeostasis

 Homeostasis: The internal balance that must be maintained to survive (“normal limits”)

o Body Temperature: 97.1- 100.4 ℉

 Examples:

o Heart Rate: 60-80 beats/min

o Respiration Rate: 12-16 breaths/min
o Blood glucose: 80 -100 mg/100ml
o Blood pH: 7.35-7.45
 Involves nervous and endocrine systems
 Vitals can be breathing, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, etc.
 Homeostasis is maintained by feedback mechanisms

• Receptor: monitors a controlled condition & detects stimulus

• Control center: Processes information & sends message to brain or endocrine system
• Effector: receives messages from the control center and produces a response that
changes the controlled condition

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 There are 2 types of feedback loops:
o Negative feedback loop – REVERSES the stimulus
 Ex: body temperature, blood sugar levels, blood pressure
 Most feedback systems in the body are negative
 Used for conditions that need frequent adjustment
o Positive feedback loop – Original stimulus is INTENSIFIED
 Ex: Childbirth, blood clotting
 Hypothermia is when body temperature drops while Hyperthermia is a fever
o Hypothermia is bad because they will be weak, disoriented, and may not be
conscious
 A fever can cause an altered mental status, heat stroke, death, stop sweating which is
crucial to maintain body temperature (as water evaporates it drags away excess body heat)
o Sweating is an example of negative feedback (up and down arrows).
 It is a way our body has of reversing a problem – reverses initial
change
 Stimulus: Initial change (ex: rise in body temp) / change in the environment and our body
picks up that there is a problem
o Our body knows this because there are receptors or nerve endings that are
detecting that there is a change (receive information or detect problem)
 This will send information to our brain and spinal cord and our brain will
process the information (input)
 Ex. Ice cube in hand – receptors say to brain it is cold - brain will
send message to body part to make a change (effector) – then the
effector says to drop the ice
 The effector [efferent/motor] is the body part that responds to the outgoing message
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 o A muscle or can be a gland
o Ingoing message is sensory (brain is processing all incoming messages and
sending outgoing messages which are motor messages)
 Motor messages are always being sent to the muscles
o Outgoing message will always be sent to an effector
 Receptor sends sensory message up to brain (ingoing messages) and the effector responds
to motor messages
 Sensory messages can be referred to as Afferent
 Output/motor can be referred to as Efferent
 Sensory messages going in and motor messages going out

 Heat stroke is a failure of negative feedback

 Positive feedback is childbirth – when uterus contracts the body is trying to squeeze baby
out and when contracts oxytocin is released – the more it does the more the contractions
o Arrows in same direction

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 Homeostasis is continually being disrupted
 Disruptions include…
o External stimuli or
 Intense heat, cold, and lack of oxygen
o Internal stimuli
 Psychological stresses
 Exercise
 Disruptions are usually mild & temporary
 If homeostasis is not maintained, death may result.
 There are several types of homeostatic imbalances:
 Disorder: Abnormality of function
– Ex: TMJ Disorder (aka. Lock Jaw)
 Disease: A homeostatic imbalance with distinct symptoms and signs.
o Symptoms - changes in body function felt by the patient such as nausea and
headache
o Signs - changes in body function that can be observed by the doctor such as rash
or fever

Anatomical Position

• Anatomical Position
o Standing upright
o Facing the observer, head level
o Eyes facing forward
o Feet flat on the floor
o Arms at the sides
o Palms turned forward
• Prone position is lying face down
• Supine position is lying face up
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Anatomical Directions

 Lateral is going towards side

 Medial going towards middle
 Mid-sagittal (an incision that cuts the body into right side and left side)
o If it’s off just use sagittal
 Transverse incision is going side to side
 Top to bottom is superior (top or above) to inferior (bottom below)
 Where a part is attached to the torso (proximal) vs further away from the site (distal)

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  Frontal incision or coronal incision (plane of the body divided the body into superior and
inferior or anterior or posterior)
o Front is anterior while back is posterior
 Ventral and dorsal are other terms synonymous with the above
 All of these divide the person into front part and back part
 As we go towards the head we use the term Cephalic (Cranial)
 Towards tailbone is Caudal (Rostral)

- Example: patient has an abrasion (scrape) on anterior femoral region…where is that?

- Which is more distal antebrachial or antecubital? = antebrachial
- In anatomical position is the pollex medial or lateral

Practice

1. The wrist is ________ to the elbow.

2. The eyes are ________ to the mouth.
3. The brain is ________ to the forehead.
4. The thumb is on the ______ side of the hand.
5. The knee is ________ to the ankle.
6. The sternum is ________ to the heart.
7. The heart lies ________ to the lungs.
8. The stomach is ________ to the heart.

Anatomical Landmarks

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Anterior body landmarks

Posterior Body Landmarks

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  Planes are imaginary cuts through the body and the results are pieces called sections

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Planes and Sections of the Brain
(3-D anatomical relationships revealed)

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  Body Cavities are spaces where organs are located
 Two major divisions
 Dorsal Body Cavity (Posterior) – space in our body that fits our spinal cord and
backbone all the way up to skull
o Cranial cavity – where brain in
 Contains the brain
 Surrounded by skull
o Spinal cavity – Space where actual spinal cord is located and covered by
backbone
o Vertebral cavity – where the backbone is
 Contains the spinal cord
 Surrounds spinal cavity
 Surrounded by vertebrae
o Dorsal body cavity has 2 divisions and is lined by meninges
 Meninges are membrane/tissues which are there to protect brain
and spinal cord from being damaged
 Cerebral spinal fluid is the watery liquid stuff made
by meninges to help bathe and cushion brain and
spinal cord
2. Ventral Body Cavity (Anterior) – everything else that is not dorsal
o Thoracic cavity – torso covered by ribs
 R/L Pleural Cavities
 Serous membrane = pleura
 Mediastinum
 Pericardial cavity
 Serous membrane that covers your heart = pericardium
o Abdominopelvic cavity – anything below/ inferior to diaphragm
 Serous membrane = peritoneum
 Abdominal cavity – Liver/gallbladder, Stomach, Pancreas, Spleen,
small intestine and large intestine, appendix, kidneys (dorsally
located behind all intestines)
 VISCERA the organs in abdominopelvic cavity
 Pelvic cavity – bladder, uterus and ovaries
• ‘-Itis’ means inflammation
o Meningitis means inflammation of the meninges
 Headache
 Fever
 Stiff neck because the swelling is pushing on the delicate tissues

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  Ventral body cavity has 2 subdivisions and is covered by serous membranes
3. Thoracic cavity is above the diaphragm
 Heart and lungs
 Pleura is membrane that covers each lung within the thoracic cavity
 Surfactant liquid made by pleura that covers the organs
 Need this so the organs can move
 Left lung is smaller
 Heart is posterior to the lungs
 Membrane that covers heart is pericardium
o Giant muscles that are in heart are great vessels
o Thymus is an endocrine gland that sits on heart
o Posterior to heart are tubes - trachea
o Esophagus is posterior to trachea
o Diaphragm sits under lungs and makes a shelf/floor
4. Abdominopelvic cavity is below the diaphragm
 Peritoneum lines this cavity and all the organs are contained in this
 Liver
 Gallbladder
 Stomach
 Pancreas
 Spleen
 Appendix
 Midline things are called the mediastinum = all the stuff in the middle fo thoracic
cavity that are not heart and lungs
 Kidneys are dorsally located and sit just outside
 Most are intestines

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 o Large intestine outlines the small intestine
 Pelvic starts is where ovaries and uterus
- Organs called viscera (in abdominal pelvic cavity)

Abdominopelvic Cavity

 Inferior portion of ventral body cavity below diaphragm

 Encircled by abdominal wall, bones & muscles of pelvis

 Thoracic cavity is surrounded by ribs, vertebral column, and diaphragm

 Consists of 2 pleural cavities that hold the lungs and the mediastinum
 Mediastinum contains all thoracic organs except the lungs.
o heart and great vessels
o Thymus
o Esophagus
o Trachea

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  Serous membranes line cavities that are not exposed to the outside
environment.
 Produce serous fluid to reduce friction
 Parietal layer lines walls of cavities
 Visceral layer covers viscera (organs)
 Types of serosa include pleura, pericardium, and peritoneum

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Pleural & Pericardial Cavities

 Pleura: Serous membrane lining the Lungs

 Pericardium: Serous membrane lining the Heart

 Peritoneum – lines the abdominal cavity

Anatomical Regions

1. Abdominopelvic Quadrants
o Four quadrants
 RUQ, LUQ, RLQ, LLQ
2. Abdominopelvic Regions
o Nine regions
 Hypochondriac (R/L), Epigastric, Lumbar (R/L), Hypogastric/Pubic,
Inguinal (R/L)

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Abdominopelvic Major Organs

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Clinical Observational Techniques

• Palpation: Feel body surface with hands

o Pulses and breathing rates
o Palpate = feel
• Auscultation: Listen to body sounds with stethoscope
o Abnormal fluid in lungs
• Percussion: Tap on body surface/striking gently
o Knee reflex
• Medical Imaging allows visualization of structures without surgery
o Useful for confirmation of diagnosis
• X-Rays produce 2-D image
o Images appear black, grey, or white depending on the structure’s density
o The darker the image the less dense it is as it gets brighter and whiter the denser
it is
 Air is darkest because it is the least dense
 Bones and teeth will appear white
o Airfatliverbloodmusclebone
 Blackgraywhite
o Enhanced by contrast materials (barium)
• Computed Tomography (CT Scan) are a moving X-ray
o Image produced on a video monitor of a cross-section through body
o Multiple scans used to build 3D views
o Reveal more soft tissue detail than regular X-rays

 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) uses a magnetic field and radio wave pulses to
generate an image
o Reveals fine detail within soft tissues
 Cancer is when cells make too many cells in an uncontrolled fashion and that is when we
can track it with PET scans
o Cells that are metabolically active and working rapidly

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  Ultrasound (US) aka sonogram images use high-frequency sound waves to
produce an image
o Safe, noninvasive & painless
o Image or sonogram is displayed on video monitor


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