This document provides an overview of a course on human anatomy and physiology for medical students. The course introduces students to the concepts of anatomy and physiology and how the body is organized from the chemical to organism levels. It describes the main objectives of the course as helping students learn the basic anatomical structures of the body and understand how the organs function and interact with each other. The course also aims to equip students with knowledge of anatomy and physiology to assist them in understanding health issues.

2. 2
MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION
BAFOUSSAM SAPIENTIAE UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE (ISSAB)
LECTURER: Dr. ASOBOCHIA
MLS/NUS/MDW111: - Anatomy & Physiology

3. Course Description:
It is an introduction to the study of the structure and
function of the human body. This course (A)
introduces the student to the concepts of anatomy
and physiology as subjects in the nursing/medical
curriculum and begins with how the body is organized
from the chemical level to the organismal level.
A description of the various cell and tissue types
follows and then the student is introduced to the
individual body systems.

4. Course objectives:
The Anatomy and Physiology (A) is
designed to let the student familiar with
the basic anatomical structure of the
human body.
Students will learn what the various organs
of the body do to contribute to the overall
physiology of the body as well as the
interaction between them.

5. Conti…
The course human anatomy and
physiology for medical students is designed to
help student nurses learn and understand
how the human body is organized and
function. Equipping the medical student with
the knowledge of anatomy and physiology
will further assist the student in
understanding what happens and what to do
when the body is injured, diseased or placed
under stress.

6. Therefore, the students are expected to achieve the
following general educational objectives after
completion of the course:
• Understand and use anatomical terms.
• Understand the function of the various organs
and their relations with one another.
• Know the location of each organ and the
important anatomical land marks.
• Know the normal structure of the human body in
general.
• Use the knowledge of anatomy and physiology in
nursing practice.

7. CHAPTER 1
The Human Body :
An Orientation

8. • Anatomy – the study of the structure and
shape of the body and body parts & their
relationships to one another. The term
anatomy comes from the Greek words
meaning to cut (tomy) apart ( ana) .
–Gross anatomy( macroscopic anatomy) –
the study of large, easily observable
structures (by naked eye), such as the
heart or bone.
–Microscopic anatomy (cytology, histology)
– the study of very small structures, where
a magnifying lens or microscope is
needed.

9. • Physiology – the study of how the body
and its parts work or function
physio =nature , ology = the study of.
• Like anatomy , physiology has many
subdivisions. For example,
neurophysiology explains the working of
the nervous system , and cardiac
physiology studies the function of the
heart.

10. Relationship between Anatomy and
Physiology
Anatomy and Physiology are always related .
Structure determines what functions can take
place. For example, the lungs are not muscular
chambers like the heart and can not pump
blood, but because the walls of lungs are very
thin, they can exchange gasses and provide
oxygen to the body.

11. Levels of Structural Organization
The human body exhibits 6 levels of structural
complexity :
1- Chemical level , the simplest level of
structural ladder .At this level atoms combine
to form molecules such as water, sugar, &
proteins
2- Cellular level the smallest units of living
things .
3- Tissue level , groups of similar cells that have
a common function (4 basic types)

12. 4- Organ level, an organ is a structure
composed of 2 or more tissue types
that performs a specific function .
5- Organ System is a group of organs
that work together to accomplish a
common purpose (each organ has its
own job to do)
6- Organismal level , represents the
highest level of structural
organization( total of 11 organ
systems)

13. Atoms molecules and compounds:
• - At its simplest level, the body is composed of atoms. The most
common elements in living organism are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen phosphorus and sulfur.
• Atoms → Molecule → Compounds.
• Cell: The smallest independent units of life. All life depends on the
many chemical activities of cells. Some of the basic functions of cell
are: growth, metabolism, irritability and reproduction.
• Tissue: tissue is made up of many similar cells that perform a
specific function. The various tissues of the body are divided in to
four groups. These are epithelial, connective, nervous and muscle
tissue.
• Epithelial tissue: - Found in the outer layer of skin, lining of organs,
blood and lymph vessels and body cavities. Connective tissue: -
Connects and supports most part of the body. They constitute most
part of skin, bone and tendons.

14. Conti…
• Muscle tissue: - Produces movement through its
ability to contract. This constitutes skeletal,
smooth and cardiac muscles
• Nerve tissue: - Found in the brain, spinal cord and
nerves. It responds to various types of stimuli and
transmits nerve impulses.
• Organ: - Is an integrated collection of two or
more kinds of tissue that works together to
perform specific function. For example: Stomach
is made of all type of tissues