HUMAN ANATOMY AND

PHYSIOLOGY AN
INTRODUCTION

Human Anatomy and Physiology

Anatomy (ana up; tomy process of)
the science of body structures (morphology)
and the relationships among structures
studied by dissection and imaging techniques
Physiology (physi nature; logos study of)
the science of body functions

Subdivisions of Anatomy
BRANCH/TOPIC

Gross Anatomy
Regional Anatomy
Systemic Anatomy
Surface Anatomy
Microscopic Anatomy
Cytology
Histology
Embryology
Developmental Anatomy
Radiographic Anatomy
Pathological Anatomy

DEFINITION
study of structures that can be examined without
using a microscope
study of body structures of specific regions such as
the head or chest
study of body structures of the specific systems such
as the nervous system or skeletal system
study of anatomical landmarks on the surface of the
body through visualization and palpation
study of structures with the use of the microscope
study of the chemical and microscopic structure of
cells
study of the microscopic structure of tissues
study of the structures that emerge from the time of
the fertilized egg to the eighth week in utero
study of the structures that emerge from the time of
the fertilized egg to the adult form
study of body structures that can be visualized using
x-rays
study of the structural changes (from gross to
microscopic) associated with disease

Subdivisions of Physiology
BRANCH/TOPIC
Cell Physiology
Neurophysiology
Endocrinology
Cardiovascular Physiology
Immunology

Respiratory Physiology
Renal Physiology
Systemic Physiology
Exercise Physiology
Pathophysiology

DEFINITION
study of the functions of cells
study of the functional properties of nerve
cells
study of hormones and how they control
body functions
study of the functions of the heart and
blood vessels
study of how the body defends itself
against disease-causing agents
study of the functions of the air
passageways and lungs
study of the functions of the kidneys
study of the functions of specific organ
systems
study of the changes in cell and organ
functions as a result of muscular activity
study of the functional changes associated
with disease and aging

Early History of A&P

considered as the oldest medical
science
cave paintings of the early Stone
Age, about 30,000 years ago, show
a simple knowledge of the anatomy
of animals, and it is assumed that
these cave dwellers applied some of
their anatomical knowledge to their
own bodies
the civilizations of the Babylonians,
Assyrians, Egyptians, Chinese, and
Hindus studied human anatomy

5th - 3rd Century B.C.

Alcmaeon (ca. 500 B.C., Italy), probably the first person to dissect
the human body for research purposes, proposed that the brain is
the center of intelligence.
Empedocles (ca. 490-430 B.C, Sicily), heart distributed life-giving
heat to the body, initiated the idea that an ethereal substance called
pneuma, which was both life and soul, flowed through the blood
vessels.
Hippocrates (ca. 460-377 B.C ., Greece), now known as the Father of
Medicine, advocated the importance of the relationship between
patient, physician, and disease in title diagnosis and treatment of
illness.
Aristotle (384-322 B.C) dissected animals, corrected many of the
anatomical errors of his predecessors, but because he was primarily
a philosopher, he depended more on logical deduction than on
observation and experimentation

3rd Century B.C. 2nd Century A.D.

Herophilus (ca. 335-280 B.C) dissected the human body,
established the brain as the center of intelligence, distinguished
between veins and arteries, other accurate observations on the
structure of the human body, especially the nervous system.
Erasistratus (ca. 310-250 B.C) was more interested in physiology,
studied the circulation in the body, pneuma (or vital air) carried
by the arteries.
Galen (ca. A.D 129-199), with dissections of African monkeys
(human dissections were still forbidden) provided related
information about humans, described brain structures and the
structural differences between veins and arteries, and heart
valves, observed that muscles contract in response to a stimulus
from nerves, and demonstrated experimentally that the arteries
carry blood, not air.

The Middle Ages

The fourteenth century brought a
more scientific attitude to the
study of the human body.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
produced hundreds of anatomical
drawings made from dissections.

Modern Anatomy
Modern anatomical science begun in 1543
with the publication of De humani corporis
fabrica (On the Structure of the Human Body)
by Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564), considered
as the Father of Anatomy. Systematically
arranged and meticulously illustrated, it
relied upon the results of actual human
dissections.
The publication of the Fabrica was a major
scientific event because it was instrumental
in overcoming the authority of the Catholic
church. Anatomy was placed on an objective
level, and Galen's inaccuracies were exposed.

Modern Physiology
What Vesalius is to anatomy, William
Harvey (1578-1657) is to physiology.
In 1628, Harvey published Exercitatio
anatomica de motu cordis et
sanguinis in animalibus (Anatomical
Exercise on the Motion of the Heart
and Blood in Animals), which
described the circulation of the
blood.
De motu cordis and De humani
corporis fabrica are two of the most
important books in the history of
medicine.

Contributions of Miscroscopy
Hans and Zacharias Janssen
invented the compound
microscope in the 1590s, Antoni
van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)
improved the earliest practical
microscopes.
What was first called anatomy
came to be called gross, or
macroscopic, anatomy, in
contrast to microscopic
anatomy, the study of the
structure of cells and other
microscopic tissues.

Imaging Techniques
X-ray or radiograph - dense structures
absorb the X rays most and appear as light
areas, hollow air-containing organs and fat,
show up as dark areas. Used to visualize
hard, bony structures and locate abnormally
dense structures (tumors, tuberculosis
nodules) in the lungs

Computed tomography (CT,

formerly computerized axial
tomography, CAT) produces a
detailed, cross-sectional picture
of each body region scanned

 Dynamic Spatial
Reconstruction (DSR) produces 3D images of body
organs from any angle, notes
movements and changes in
their internal volumes at
normal speed, in slow motion,
and at a specific moment
Digital Subtraction Angiography
(DSA) - provides an unobstructed
view of small arteries. Radiographs
are taken before and after a
contrast medium is injected into an
artery. The computer subtracts the
before image from the after
image, is used to identify blockages
in the arteries that supply the heart
wall and brain

 Positron Emission Tomography

(PET) used in observing
metabolic processes, provide
insights into brain activity, used to
determine which areas of the
healthy brain are most active
during certain tasks (e.g. listening
to music), providing direct
evidence of the functions of
specific brain regions

PET

Sonography, or ultrasound imaging

the body is probed with pulses of
sound waves that cause echoes
when reflected and scattered by
body tissues. A computer analyzes
these echoes to construct somewhat
blurry outlines of body organs

 Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (MRI) - produces
high-contrast images of soft
tissues, it distinguishes body
tissues based on their water
content. It is also particularly
good at detecting tumors and
degenerative disease.

MRI

Magnetic Resonance
Spectroscopy (MRS) maps the distribution of
elements other than
hydrogen to reveal more
about how disease
changes body chemistry

Three Central Concepts in Anatomy

and Physiology
1. complementarity of structure and function
2. hierarchy of structural organization
3. homeostasis

Levels of Structural Organization

Characteristics of Life
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Movement
Responsiveness
Growth
Reproduction
Metabolism

1. Movement
Change in position of the body or of a body part; motion of an
internal organ

2. Responsiveness
All living things have the ability to sense and respond to
changes in the environment to keep conditions in their
internal environment within a range that favors cell
survival (homeostasis).
Also: irritability

3. Growth
Increase in size, volume, and number of cells
Development - Multistep process by which the first cell of a new
individual becomes a multicelled adult, with specialization of parts

4. Reproduction
process by which parents produce offspring
also includes production of new cells

5. Metabolism
All living things require energy and the raw materials
required to maintain energy supplies.

Metabolism includes:
respiration obtaining oxygen, removing carbon
dioxide, and releasing energy from foods
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 absorbed substances into
chemically different forms
excretion removal of wastes produced by metabolic
reactions

Survival Needs
Requirements of Organisms to Maintain Life
1. water required for chemical processes, transport
substances, regulate body temperature
2. food/nutrients as energy sources, raw material for
building new living matter, regulate vital chemical
reactions
3. oxygen used to release energy from food substances
4. heat presence or absence regulates chemical
processes
5. pressure application of force to a body for it to work

HOMEOSTASIS
homeo (sameness), stasis (standing still)
the maintenance of a relatively stable internal environment
despite continual changes in the bodys external environment
The body maintains homeostasis through homeostatic control
mechanisms which has 3 components:
a. receptors provide information about specific conditions
(stimuli) in the environment
b. control system contains the set point, a range of values within
which a controlled condition should be maintained
c. effectors cause responses that alter conditions in the internal
environment so the set point can be met

The elements of a homeostatic

control system

Feedback Systems
cycle of events in which the status of a body condition is continually monitored,
evaluated, changed and remonitored.
2 Types:
a. negative feedback mechanism
- opposite directional change
- results in the decrease in original stimulus
- ex.
regulation of blood pressure
regulation of body temperature
regulation of blood sugar levels
b. positive feedback mechanism
- same directional change
- results in the increase in original stimulus
- ex.
labor contractions during child birth
rooting effect during breastfeeding

Homeostatic Imbalances disturbance of the

normal equilibrium, disorder, disease or death
can occur
Disorder abnormality of function
Disease illness characterized by a specific set
of signs and symptoms
Sign observable/measurable changes
Symptom subjective changes in body
functions