Shane Gempasao BSED Science 3C

Module Number:1
Title: Planes, Landmarks, Directions, Quadrants & Regions

1. What is anatomy and physiology? Why are they studied together?

Anatomy is often defined as the study of structures in the human body.
Anatomy focuses on the description of form, or how body structures at
different levels look.
Physiology studies the “nature” of the human body, nature in the sense of
how structures at different levels work. Physiology focuses on function, or how
structures at different levels work.
Anatomy and physiology are intimately related. A hand is able to grab
things (function) because the length, shape, and mobility of the fingers (form)
determine what things a hand can grab (function). A muscle contracts and
brings bones together (function) due to the arrangement of muscles and
bones, and the arrangement of organelles inside of muscle cells (form)
determines how much and for how long a muscle can contract (function). Body
structure functions depend on their form. The way structures work depend on
the way they are organized. So understanding Physiology requires an
understanding of Anatomy, and vice versa.

2. Enumerate the branches of anatomy and the organ system studied under it.

Human anatomy is divided into following important branches:

Gross anatomy:
Gross anatomy is the study of macroscopic details of human body structure. It
is concerned only with macroscopic details, therefore it does not require the
aid of any instrument. Generally, gross anatomy is studied on dead bodies
because you cannot dissect a living human just to study anatomy; therefore
gross anatomy is also known as cadaveric anatomy.
Gross anatomy has following two main subdivisions the Systemic anatomy
and Regional Anatomy

SYSTEMIC ANATOMY - It is the study of specific systems of the body. There

are three main groups of systems present in the body.
 Somatic or voluntary systems - They are osteology (bones)
arthrology (joints), myology (muscles) and dermatology (skin and its
appendages)
 Visceral or involuntary systems - These include alimentary tract,
respiratory tract, urinary tract and reproductive tract . The study of
these systems is called splanchnology (study of viscera)
 Operative or regulatory systems These systems regulate the
activities of somatic and visceral systems. These are nervous system,
endocrine system and cardiovascular system
 Somatic or voluntary systems - The skeletal system (osteology).
It is composed of bones and cartilage. It is responsible for providing
support to the body and protection of vital organs such as the heart,
lungs, brain etc. The muscular system acts on it to produce
movement.
 The articular system (arthrology) Its components are joints and
their ligaments. Joints are responsible for connecting the body parts.
They provide locations where movements occur.
 The muscular system (Myology) it consists of muscles that
contract and cause movements of bones at joints

REGIONAL ANATOMY. - Study of the specific regions of the body is called

regional anatomy. It is also known as topographical anatomy (topography = a
detailed account of superficial features of a tract or country, description of a
place)
 There are three main regions. Upper and Lower limbs, Thorax, Abdomen
and Pelvis Head and Neck including Brain
 The body is studied region by region employing cadaver dissection. • This
is very common practice in almost all medical colleges. Students dissect upper
limb, lower limb, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, head and neck.
 In each region, • all different types of structures (fascia muscles, arteries,
veins, nerves and bones) • and organs of different systems are studied in
relation to one another
 Another method is “prosection” • where carefully prepared dissections, to
display anatomical structures, are used.

Living anatomy:
In contrast to the cadaveric anatomy, in living anatomy deals with the study of
live human beings and not dead bodies, therefore methods like dissection
cannot be applied.

Embryology:
Embryology is also known as developmental anatomy. It is concerned with the
study of the development of an embryo from a single cell to a complete human
being. Embryology provides details of the prenatal and postnatal
developmental changes in the body and the mechanisms by which these
changes occur.

Histology:
Histology is also known as microscopic anatomy. It deals with the study of
microscopic details of tissues that make human body.

Surface anatomy:
Surface anatomy, as the named indicates, is anatomy of the surface of human
body structures. It is also known as topographic anatomy. Surface anatomy
 establishes a relation between the internal structures of human body with its
surface.

Clinical anatomy:
Clinical anatomy is the application of anatomical knowledge to clinical practice.
This branch is a more practical aspect of human anatomy and is of supreme
importance for medical professionals.

3. What are the organs within each body cavity?

The Human Body Cavities

The major cavities of the human body are the spaces left over when internal
organs are removed. There are additional body cavities which we will only
discuss in lecture. These are the cavities created by serous membranes–the
pleural cavities, the pericardial cavity, and the peritoneal cavity–and the
mediastinum.

 Ventral body cavity–the thoracic cavity, the abdominal cavity, and the
pelvic cavity in combination.
1. Thoracic
a. Pleural – containing lungs
b. Mediastinum – space between the pleural cavities containing
esophagus, trachea, thymus, great blood vessels, lymph vessels
and nerves in addition to heart and pericardial cavity
b.1 Pericardal – contain heart
b.2 Abdominopelvic – contains organs inferior to the respiratory
diaphragm but above the urogenital diaphragm including kidneys,
stomach, large and small intestine, spleen, liver, gallbladder,
ovaries, uterus and pancreas

 Dorsal body cavity–the cranial cavity and the spinal cavity in combination.
 1. Cranial – contains the brain
2. Spinal/vertebral – contains the spinal cord
 Cranial cavity–the space occupied by the brain, enclosed by the skull
bones.
 Spinal cavity–the space occupied by the spinal cord enclosed by the
vertebrae column making up the backbone. The spinal cavity is continuous
with the cranial cavity.
 Thoracic cavity–the space occupied by the ventral internal organs superior
to the diaphragm.
 Abdominopelvic cavity–the abdominal cavity and the pelvic cavity in
combination.
 Abdominal cavity–the space occupied by the ventral internal organs
inferior to the diaphragm and superior to the pelvic cavity.
 Pelvic cavity–the space occupied by the ventral internal organs that are
bordered by the bones of the pelvic girdle.

4. Explain why some people have more or less body parts than others.

So how did different ranges of body size develop in the first place? We
can look to random genetic mutations, competitive living and environmental
influences in early Homo species to explain how such a range of human sizes
developed.
It could be that a random mutation made an individual taller-therefore able to
reach more food-or the opposite. Taller individuals would likely be more
successful, so reproduce more, passing these genes to the next generation,
but a certain number of less-successful shorter individuals would still
reproduce and pass their genes on.
A trend develops wherein the gene pool contains more “tall genes”, and when
you go fishing in it, you’re more likely to catch a tall person. There is still a
range of heights available to catch, but the pool is overstocked with tall. But,
gene pools are often destroyed, subdivided, reduced or impacted by natural
events.