What is the difference between anatomy and physiology?
Anatomy studies body structure, physiology is the functional relevance of the structures
What is Gross Anatomy?
Structure visible to the naked eye either by surface observation or dissection
What is histology?
Taking tissue specimens, thinly slicing, staining, and observing them under a microscope.
What is Histopathology?
The microscopic examination of tissues for signs of disease
What is the difference between SURFACE, SYSTEMIC and REGIONAL anatomy?
Surface –> External structure; important in conducting a physical exam
Systemic –> Studying one organ system at a time
Regional –> Study of multiple organ systems at the same time in a given region of the body. Method typically taught in medical schools
What is functional morphology?
Functional reason behind organ structure
What is comparative anatomy?
Study of more than 1 species; Studies generalizations and evolutionary trends; Studies structure-function relationship;
What is the difference between inspection and dissection?
Inspection is the simplest method of examining the body, done during a physical examination. Dissection is the cutting and seperation of tissues to reveal their relationships, it is crucial for accurately mapping the human body
What does anatomy mean?
“Cutting apart”
What is a cadaver?
Dead human body
Name 4 methods of clinical examination
1) PALPATION –> Feeling structures with fingertips (i.e. taking a pulse)
2) Auscultation –> Listening to the natural sounds made by the body (heart and lung sounds)
3) Percussion –> Tapping on the body and listening to the sound for signs of abnormalities (pockets of fluid and air)
4) Medical Imaging –> Includes methods of viewing the inside of the body without surgery (Radiology)
What is the difference between non-invasive and invasive imaging techniques?
Non-Invasive techniques involve no penetration of the skin or body orifices. Invasive may involve inserting ultrasound probes into body orifices or injecting substances into the blood stream
What is Radiography?
Process of photographing internal structures with X-rays, a form of high-energy radiation. X-rays are absorbed by dense tissues such as bone, teeth, and tumors, which produce a lighter image than soft tissues. Commonly used in Dentistry, mammography, diagnosis of fractures, and examination of the digestive, respiratory and urinary tract. Some disadvantages are that images of overlapping organs can be confusing, slight differences in tissue density are not detected, and mutations and cancer
What is a CT Scan?
- Computed Tomography scan
- More sophisticated application of X-rays
- Patient is moved through a ring-shaped machine that emits low-intensity x-rays on one side and receives them with a detector on the opposite side.
- Computer analyzes signals from the detector and produces an image of a slice of the body.
- Has the advantage of imaging thin sections of the body so there is little organ overlap and the image is much sharper than a conventional X-ray.
- Useful for identifying tumors, aneurysms, cerebral hemorrhages, kidney stones, and other abnormalities.
What is an MRI?
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Better than CT for visualizing soft tissues – Distinguishing white from gray matter
- Patient lies within a tunnel surrounded by a large electromagnet.
- An image is generated by the response of tissues to the magnetic field and radio waves
What is a fMRI
- Functional MRI
- Visualizes moment-by-moment changes in tissue function (Shifting patterns of activity in the brain)
- Can identify parts of brain performing tasks (sensory, mental and motor)
What is a PET Scan?
- Positron Emission Tomography scan
- Used to assess the metabolic state of a tissue and to distinguish which tissues are most active.
- Uses an injection of radioactively labeled glucose to highlight which tissues are most actively consuming energy at the moment of the scan
- In cardiology can show extent of damaged heart tissue.
- Is an example of “NUCLEAR MEDICINE” – the use of radioisotopes to treat disease or to form diagnostic images of the body
What is Sonography?
- Uses handheld device placed firmly against the skin.
- emits high-frequency ultrasound (which wont hurt you) and receives signals reflected back from internal organs.
- Equipment is relatively inexpensive and portable
- Does not produce a sharp image.
- ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY is the sonographic examination of the beating heart.
What are some sub-disciplines of Physiology?
Neurophysiology, endocrinology, pathophysiology
What are the 9 Qualities of Living Things
1) Organization
2) Cells
3) Metabolism –> Sum of all internal chemical changes in organism; living things take in molecules from the environment and chemically change them into molecules that form their own structures, control their physiology, or provide energy.
4) Growth
5) Development –> Change in form/function; includes growth and differentiation (the transformation of cells and tissues with no specialized function to ones that are committed to a particular task (ex. the unspecialized tissue “Mesoderm” differentiates into muscle, bone, cartilage, blood, and others.)
6) Excitability –> Ability of organisms to sense and react to stimuli. We would die very quickly w/o this; occurs at every level.
7) Homeostasis –> Ability to maintain internal stability
8) Reproduction –> of the 11 systems, this is one we can live w/o on an individual level but not as a species.
9) Evolution
What are examples of Homeostasis?
1) Body temperature maintained within range
2) Blood pressure and body weight
3) Electrolyte Balance and pH Levels
What does the loss of homeostatic control tend to cause?
Illness or death
What is Pathophysiology?
Study of unstable conditions that result when our homeostatic controls go wonky.
Describe Negative Feedback
- This is the good one
- Maintains Homeostasis; a process in which body senses a change and activates mechanisms that reverse it.
- It does not produce absolute constancy in the body, but maintains physiological values within a narrow range of a certain set point (98.6).
- Maintains dynamic equilibrium
- Key mechanism for maintaing health.
