This document provides an overview of anatomy, physiology, and medical terminology. It defines anatomy as the study of the structure of the body and outlines what anatomy covers, such as the microscopic organization and development of body parts. Physiology is defined as the study of function in living organisms and its major goals are to understand how the body responds to stimuli and maintains stable internal conditions. Medical terminology used to describe body positions and regions is also reviewed.

1. Joel G. Soria, MD, MBA-H

2. • The scientific discipline that investigates the structure of the
body.
• “Anatomy” means to dissect, or to cut apart and separate, the
parts of the body.
• Covers: Structure of the body, microscopic organization,
processes by which they develop.
• Examines the relationship of the structure of the body part and
its function

3. • Systemic: studies body systems
• Regional: studies body regions (medical schools)
• surface: studies external features, e.g., bone projections
• anatomical imaging: using technologies (x-rays, ultrasound,
MRI

4. The study of function in living organisms.
• It explores the mechanisms by which the organisms control
their internal environments regardless of what happens in the
outside (or external) environment.
Major Goals of Physiology:
• Understand and predict the body’s response to stimuli.
• Understand how the body maintains conditions within a
narrow range of values in a presence of a continually changing
environment.

5. Understand how the body:
Responds to stimuli
• environmental change.
• environmental cues
• diseases
• Injury
Maintains stable, internal conditions despite continually
changing environment

6. 1. Chemical:
• smallest level - atoms, chemical
bonds, molecules
2. Cellular:
• cells: basic units of life
• compartments and organelles e.g.,
mitochondria, nucleus, ribosomes,
cytoplasm

7. 3. Tissues:
• group of cells with similar
structure and function plus
extracellular substances.
• four broad types: (1)epithelial
(2)muscular (3)connective
(4)nervous
4. Organs:
• two or more tissue types acting
together to perform function(s)

8. 5. Organ system:
• group of organs contributing to
some function
6. Organism:
• all organ systems working
together

15. Organization:
• functional interrelationships between parts
Metabolism:
• sum of all chemical and physical changes sustaining an organism
• ability to acquire and use energy in support of these changes
Responsiveness
• ability to sense and respond to environmental changes
• includes both internal and external environment

16. Growth
• can increase in size
• size of cells, groups of cells, extracellular materials
Development
• changes in form and size
• changes in cell structure and function from generalized to
specialized – differentiation
Reproduction
• formation of new cells or new organism
• generation of new individuals
• tissue repair

17. • Maintenance of constant internal environment
• variables: measures of body properties that may change in
value
Examples of variables:
body temperature blood glucose levels
heart rate blood cell counts
blood pressure respiratory rate

18. set point: normal, or average value of a variable
normal range: normal extent of increase or decrease around a
set point.
example: over time, body temperature fluctuates around a set
point of about 98.6

19. • mechanism that maintains homeostasis
• - negative feedback response:
• detection: of deviation away from set point and...
• correction: reversal of deviation toward set point and
• normal range

21. 1. Receptor:
• detects changes in variable
2. Control center:
• receives receptor signal
• establishes set point
• sends signal to effector
3. Effector:
• directly causes change in variable

22. Person standing erect with face and palms forward
all relational descriptions based on the anatomical position,
regardless of body orientation
supine:
person lying face up
prone:
person lying face down
superior
inferior
superior
inferior

23. PRONE
SUPINE

24. POSTERIOR
ANTERIOR
anterior: front (also: ventral)
posterior: back (also: dorsal)

25. LATERAL
MEDIAL
medial: close to midline
lateral: away from midline

26. INFERIOR
SUPERIOR
Superior: above
Inferior: below

28. DISTAL
PROXIMAL
Proximal: close to point of
attachment
Distal: far from point of
attachment

29. 29
•proximal: close to point of
attachment
•distal: far from point of
attachment
•superficial: structure
close to the surface
•deep: structure toward the
interior of the body
Terminology and the Body Plan
2

30. DEEP
SUPERFICIAL
Superficial: structure close to
the surface
Deep: structure toward the
interior of the body

32. Sagittal: Vertical plane, between anterior
and posterior surfaces
Midsagittal: Sagittal plane along the
midline, divides body into equal left and
right halves
Transverse: Horizontal plane
Frontal: Vertical plane, between lateral
surfaces

33. SAGITAL
MID-SAGITAL

34. TRANSVERSE
FRONTAL

35. OBLIQUE

37. 37
Upper limbs:
Upper arm, forearm, wrist, hand
Lower limbs:
Thigh, lower leg, ankle, foot
Central region:
head, neck, trunk
Figure 1.9

38. Back Scapular
region
Triangle of
auscultation
Vertebral
region
Sacral
region
Lumbar
region
BACK REGION

39. Frontal
Mental
Nasal
Oral
Orbital
Occipital
Parietal
Temporal
Zygomatic
Buccal
Otic Facial
Cephalic
Head
Regions

40. Femoral
Patellar
Crural
Tarsal Pedal Dorsum
of foot
Digits Calcaneal
Gluteal
Coxal
Popliteal
Sural

41. Anterior
cervical
Lateral
cervical
Posterior
cervical
Sternocleidomastoid

43. Figure 1.9

45. 45
Thoracic cavity:
• space within chest wall and diaphragm
• contains heart, lungs,
• thymus gland, esophagus,
• trachea
Mediastinum:
• space between lungs
• contains heart, thymus, gland, esophagus, trachea

46. 46
Abdominal cavity :
• space between diaphragm and pelvis
• contains stomach, intestines, liver, spleen,
pancreas, kidneys
Pelvic cavity:
• space within pelvis
• contains urinary bladder, reproductive organs,
part of large intestine