INTRODUCTION TO ANATOMY

TWO BASIC APPROACHES

1. Systemic Anatomy
2. Regional Anatomy

1. Systematic Anatomy
 11 systems
 Nerves are represented with yellow structure
 General function
 Specialized function of the system
 Components
Two components:
1. To identify major organ
2. Accessory organs

11 Systems of the body

1. Integumentary System
Function:
- First line of defense -> Protective covering
- Thermoregulation
o Homeostasis – State of balance in the body
 Ex: Temperature (36.5 – 37.4 degrees)
Major organ of the integumentary: Skin/Integument

2. Muscular System
Function:
- Facilitates Movement in the body
- Body shape
Major organ: Skeletal Muscles
Biggest tendon: Achilles tendons
- Seen in heel bone. A tough band of fibrous tissue that connects the calf muscles to the heel bone
(calcaneus). The Achilles tendon is also called the calcaneal tendon.
Gastrocnemius – muscle
3 types of Muscles
a. Skeletal – Voluntary muscle
Not included in the Muscular System:
b. Smooth – Blood vessels
c. Cardiac – Heart –> Cardiovascular System

3. Skeletal System
- Bones (206 bones in the body)
Function:
- Structural support
- It gives the body its shape
Major organ – Bones
Accessory organs:
a. Tendon – bone to muscle
 b. Ligaments – bone to bone
c. Cartilage – soft bones

4. Nervous System
Function:
- Transmitting messages or impulses within the body
- Facilitates communication in the body - signals
- Responses – signals
Major organ: Brain / Spinal cord ( Central Nervous System / Peripheral Nervous System – nerve fibers found along the
boy (PNS )

5. Endocrine System
- Related to chemical signals
o Hormones
- Example: Endocrine glands
o For females – Ovary -> Hormones: Estrogen & Progesterone
o Male – Testes -> Hormones: Testosterone
- Slow signal/slow reaction

6. Cardiovascular System (Circulatory System)

Functions:
- Transports oxygen, nutrients, and byproducts of metabolism
Cardio – Heart
Vascular - Blood vessel
Three types of blood vessels:
a. Arteries
b. Veins
c. Capillaries
Major organ: Heart

7. Respiratory System
Function: Responsible for exchange of gases
- Oxygen and Carbon dioxide
Major organ: Lungs (basic tissue of lungs -> alveoli – where the exchange of gases take place)
- Upper Respiratory Pathway – Nose, nasal cavity, pharynx,
- Lower Respiratory Pathway – larynx, bronchus, lungs
Accessory organ:

8. Digestive System
- Complete digestive system
o Two opening:
 Mouth
 anus
Function:
- Breakdown of food
o Two levels:
 Mechanical breakdown – Chew the food into small particles. Preliminary digestion
 Chemical breakdown – Simplify the food for absorption of nutrients
- Absorption of nutrients
Major organ: Small Intestine – main site for chemical digestion
9. Urinary System
- Urine
Kidney -

10. Lymphatic system (Immune System)

Major organ:
Lymph nodes / moules – fluids passing through will be screen by the lymph nodes
Lymph vessels

11. Reproductive System

Function:
- Production of gametes
o Gametes – Sex cells
Male Reproductive System – sperm cell
Major organ: testes
Female Reproductive system – egg cell
Major organ: Ovaries

2. Regional Anatomy

Two structures:

1. Morphology – Looking at the external structure of the body / general form

2. Anatomy - Examining human body / body organism / internal structures
1. Surface anatomy – Using external features to look at internal structure

2. Anatomical Imaging - X-ray, ct scan, MRI, ultrasound

Surface Anatomy: Techniques

1. Visual Inspection
- Using eyes to visually observe
2. Palpation
- Used to identify position of organ and for diagnosis

-
3. Percussion
- Tapping certain part of the body
4. Auscultation
- Listening to the sound
o Ex: Heart sound, lung sounds

Human Anatomic Position

Conventional reference posture where descriptions of the human body are based

ANATOMICAL POSITION

- The body is upright, directly facing the observer, feet forward and flat. The upper limbs are at the side of the
body, palms forward

Anatomical reference / Reference point

- Posterior – tail (tail bone) – last bone in the vertebral column

- Dorsal – vertebral bone (back bone)
- Anterior (ventral) – position of the face
- Ventral– belly/abdominal region
 - Superior (cranial) – above
- Inferior (caudal) – going down/below

Body planes
Draw imaginary lines to section/divide the body into regions or sides

Sagittal plane – divides the body into left and right portions
a. Midsagittal / median – draw imaginary line exactly at the midline , equal R and L
b. Parasagittal / Sagittal – there is an unequal side of the left and right portion
Middle reference structure in the body –navel/ umbilical cord
Coronal Plane – divides body into anterior and posterior portion / dorsal & ventral
 Reference point – in front of the ears or anterior to the tragus of the ear, coronal suture
Transverse Plane – divides body into superior and inferior portion
 Reference point – navel, umbilical cord
Body Cavities
Any space or compartment, or potential space, in an animal body. Cavities accommodate organs and other structures;
cavities as potential spaces contain fluid. The two largest human body cavities are the ventral body cavity, and the dorsal
body cavity.

Sinus – circulation of air, mucus

 Dorsal Column
a. Cranial column
- Skull
o brain
b. Vertebral column / vertebral bones
- Spinal column

 Dorsal Cavity – houses the central nervous system

- Foramen magnum – opening in the skull
 o superior to foramen magnum – brain
o Inferior to foramen magnum – vertebral cavity
- Axial skeletal system
o skull
o vertebral bones
 Ventral Cavity (front)
- Thoracic cavity
Divided into 2 smaller
o Pleural cavity (Right & left pleural)
 Lungs
o Pericardial cavity
 Heart
- Abdomino-pelvic cavity
Divided into 2:
o Abdominal cavity
 Pelvic cavity
- Reference point/anatomical landmark that divides the abdominal to pelvic region: Ilium / iliac crest
- Diaphragm - a thin muscle that separates thoracic and abdomino-pelvic cavity

Terms related to position/directional terms

Upper & lower extremity

Proximal – nearer to the reference point

Distal – away

Reference point: point of attachment

Ex: elbow is proximal to the wrist

The wrist is distal to the elbow

Superficial vs Deep -> The reference point is the surface whether it is near or far from the surface

- Used when describing layers

- Superficial – near
- Deep – far
o Ex: The skin is superficial to the muscle
 The skin is nearer to the surface comparing to the muscle (Translation)

External vs Internal -> Reference point: Center of the body in a cross section

- Used when describing position of internal organs

- External – far from the center
- Internal - near the center

For the foot & hand:

1. Palmar - palm
2. Dorsal –back of the hand
3. Plantar – sole of the foot
4. Dorsal
 BASIC STRUCTURES
Lecture 2

BASIC STRUCTURES IN THE BODY

Layers:
- Skin
- Fascia
- Muscles
- Bones
Connected to the structures:
- Nerves
- Blood vessels
- Lymphatic drainage
1. Skin
Two major layers:
a. Epidermis – made of stratified epithelium
b. Dermis – made of dense connective tissue
- Connected to underlying fascia

Skin creases – thinner than elsewhere

- Firmly tethered to underlying structures by strong bands of fibrous tissue
Flexion Creases

Michelin – tire syndrome

Skin : Hair
o Grow out of follicles
- Invaginations of the epidermis into the dermis
- Lie obliquely to the skin surface
o Hair bulbs
- Expanded extremities
- Penetrate to the deeper part of the dermis
o Hair papilla
- Vascular connective tissue found in the concavity of each hair bulb
o Arrector pili
- Connects to the undersurface of the follicle to the superficial part of the dermis
- Innervated by sympathetic nerve fibers
Skin : Glands
- Sebaceous Gland / oil gland
o Secretes sebum
- Sweat Gland
o Secretes sweat
o Related to thermoregulation
Accessory organs
- Arrector Pili Muscle / Erector pili muscle – a smooth mucle
o Responsible for goosefleshing activity
- Hair
- Exocrine glands
o Sebaceous and Sweat Gland
- Blood vessels

Epidermal ridge / Dermal ridge – responsible for visible lines

Directional Terms
Directional terms describe the positions of structures relative to other structures or locations in the body.

Superior or cranial - toward the head end of the body; upper (example, the hand is part of the superior extremity).

Inferior or caudal - away from the head; lower (example, the foot is part of the inferior extremity).

Anterior or ventral - front (example, the kneecap is located on the anterior side of the leg).

Posterior or dorsal - back (example, the shoulder blades are located on the posterior side of the body).

Medial - toward the midline of the body (example, the middle toe is located at the medial side of the foot).

Lateral - away from the midline of the body (example, the little toe is located at the lateral side of the foot).

Proximal - toward or nearest the trunk or the point of origin of a part (example, the proximal end of the femur joins with
the pelvic bone).

Distal - away from or farthest from the trunk or the point or origin of a part (example, the hand is located at the distal
end of the forearm).
It refers to the layer inferior to the dermis. – hypodermis
Sebaceous gland - The oiliness of the skin and hair is directly associated with this
gland.  
Navel - It serves as an anatomical landmark for transverse plane.  
Surface anatomy - It is an approach in anatomy which uses external parts to identify
internal structures.  
Human anatomical position - It refers to a reference posture which serves as guide for
overall body description. 
Skull - Encloses the cranial cavity
Pleural cavity - This specific body cavity contains the lungs.
Dorsal - It is the direction opposite plantar direction. 

Palpation - This technique uses sense of touch to identify underlying structures. 

Ovaries – major organ reproductive

Anterior - In human anatomical position, ventral is synonymous to this anatomical term.

In upper extremity , this serves as anatomical landmark for the distal and proximal
direction. 
Thoracic cavity - This is the body cavity superior to the diaphragm. 

Sweat gland - This exocrine gland helps in thermal regulation. 

cardiovascular system - This system functions for the distribution of oxygen to different
parts of the body. 
Smooth muscle - It refers to the type of muscle found in internal hollow organs. 
Deep - It is an anatomical term opposite superficial. 

Small intestine - It is the major organ of the digestive system. 

Sagittal - This body plane divides the body into equal right and left side. 
Ilium - It is anatomical landmark which separates abdominopelvic cavity. 

LABORATORY
A is proximal to C
E is inferior to F
C is distal to A