An Introduction to the
Human Body
Definitions
•Anatomy – is the science of body structures and the
relationships among them.
- First
studied by Dissection, the careful cutting apart
of body structures to study their relationship.
•Physiology – thescience of body functions – how the
parts work together.
Levels of Structural Organization and
Body Systems
•1. Chemical Level: The very basic level. This includes:
a.Atoms: smallest unit of matter which participates in chemical
reactions.
b.Molecules: Group of two or more atoms joined together (i.e.
DNA).
2. Cellular Level: Molecules combine to form Cells, the basic
structural and functional units of an organism (smallest units in
the human body). Ex.muscle cells, nerve cells, and epithelial
cells.
•3. TissueLevel: Tissues are a group of cells and the
materials surrounding them that work together to perform a
function. There are four types of tissue:
•a.
Epithelial Tissue: covers body surfaces, lines hollow
organs and cavities, and forms glands.
•b.
Connective Tissue: connects, supports, and protects body
organs, while distributing blood vessels to other tissues.
•c.
Muscular Tissue: Contracts to make body parts move and
generates heat.
•d.
Nervous Tissue: Carries information from one part of the
body to another through nerve impulses.
• 4.Organ Level: Organs are structures composed of two or more
different types of tissues which have specific functions and have
recognizable shapes. i.e. stomach, skin, bones, heart, liver, lungs, and
the brain.
• 5.
System Level: A System consists of related organs with a common
function.
• 6.
Organism Level : An Organism is any living individual. All the
parts of the human body functioning together.
Eleven Systems of
the Human Body
Integumentary
System
• Components: Skin and
associated: hair, fingernails,
toenails, sweat glands, and oil
glands.
• Functions: Protects body, helps
regulate body temperature,
eliminates some waste, makes
Vitamin D, sensation, stores fat.
Skeletal System
• Components: Bones and joints
and associated cartilages.
• Functions: Supports and protects
body, provides surface area for
muscle attachment, aids body
movement, houses cells that
produce blood cells, stores
minerals.
Muscular System
• Components: Skeletal muscle
tissues (muscles attached to bones)
• Functions: Body movements,
posture, heat production.
Nervous System
• Components: Brain, spinal cord, nerves and
sense organs such as eyes and ears.
• Functions: Generates action potentials (nerve
impulses) to regulate body activities, internal
and external environmental detection,
interprets changes, responds by muscular
contractions or glandular secretions.
Endocrine System
• Components: Hormone producing
glands (pineal gland, hypothalamus,
pituitary gland,thymus, thyroid
gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal
glands, pancreas, ovaries, and
testes).
• Functions: Regulates body activities
by releasing hormones (chemical
messengers transported in blood
from endocrine gland to tissue or
target organ).
Cardiovascular System
•Components: Blood, heart, blood
vessels
•Functions: Heart pumps blood
through the blood vessels, blood
carries O2 and nutrients to cells and
CO2 waste away from cells and
helps regulate acid-base balance,
temperature, and water content of
body fluids; components of blood
helps fight against disease and repair
blood vessels
Lymphatic System and
Immunity
• Components: Lymphatic fluid and
vessels; spleen, thymus, lymph nodes,
and tonsils. Cells that carry out immune
responses (B Cells, T Cells, etc.).
• Functions: Returns proteins and fluids to
blood; carries lipids from gastrointestinal
tract to blood, contains sites of
maturation and proliferation of B Cells
and T Cells that protects against disease-
causing microbes.
Respiratory System
• Components: Lungs, Pharynx (throat), larynx
(voice box), trachea (wind pipe), bronchial tubes
• Functions: transfers O2 into blood and CO2 out of
blood. Regulates acid-base balance of body fluids,
air flowing out of lungs through vocal cords
produces sounds.
Digestive System
• Components: gastrointestinal tract which
includes: mouth, pharynx, esophagus,
stomach, small and large intestines, anus.
Accessory organs that assist in digestion:
salivary glands, liver, gallbladder,
pancreas.
• Functions: physical & chemical
breakdown of food, absorbs nutrients,
eliminates solid wastes.
Urinary System
• Components: Kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder,
urethra.
• Functions: Produces, stores, and eliminates urine;
eliminates wastes and regulates volume and
chemical composition of blood; acid-base balance;
maintains mineral balance; regulate production of
red blood cells.
Reproductive System
• Components: Gonads (Ovaries or Testes) and associated organs:
(uterine tubes, fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina, mammary glands –
females; epididymis, ductus/vas deferens, seminal vesicles,
prostate, penis – males)
• Functions: Gonads produce gametes (sperm or oocytes) that
combine to produce new organism; gonads release hormones that
regulate reproduction and other body processes; transport and store
gametes; mammary glands produce milk.
Basic Anatomical
Terminology
Body Positions
Regional Names
Directional Terms- describes the position of a body part
relative to another
• Superior (cephalic or cranial): Toward the head; upper part of structure.
• Inferior (caudal): Away from head; lower part of structure.
• Anterior (ventral): Nearer to or the front of the body.
• Posterior (dorsal): Nearer to or the back of the body.
• Medial: Nearer to the middle (imaginary line).
• Lateral: Farther from the middle.
• Intermediate: Between two structures.
• Ipsilateral: On the same side of the body as another structure.
• Contralateral: On the opposite side of the body as another structure
• Proximal: Nearer to the attachment of a limb to the trunk; nearer to the origination of a structure.
• Distal: Farther from the attachment of a limb; farther from the origination of a structure.
• Superfcial (external): Towards or on the surface of body.
• Deep (internal): Away from the surface of the body.
Planes and Sections
•Planes – imaginary flat surfaces that pass through the body.
•Sagittalplane – vertical plane that divides the body or organ
into right and left sides.
- Midsagittal or median plane – plane passes through the
midline of the body or organ and divides into equal sides.
oMidline – Imaginary vertical line that divides the body into
equal left and right.
- Parasagittal plane – does not pass midline but divides body
or organ into unequal sides.
• Section – cut of the body or organ made along one of the
planes (midsagittal, frontal, transverse).
• Frontal (coronal) plane – divides the body into anterior
(front) and posterior (back) portions.
• Transverse (cross-sectional, horizontal) plane – divides
the body into superior (upper) and inferior (lower)
portions.
• Oblique plane – passes through body or organ at an angle
other than 90o.
Body Cavities -spaces that enclose the internal organ
• Cranial Cavity: Contains the brain.
• Vertebral (spinal) canal: Contains the spinal cord. The cranial and vertebral
are continuous with one another.
o Meninges: Along with three layers of tissue and shock absorbing fluid
surround the brain and spinal cord.
• Thoracic cavity (chest cavity): formed by ribs, the muscles of chest, the
sternum, and thoracic portion of vertebral column.
a. Pericardial cavity: fluid-filled space that surrounds the heart.
b. Pleural cavities: One around each lung.
c. Mediastinum: Middle of thoracic cavity. Contains all thoracic organs
except lungs. Heart, esophagus, trachea, thymus, large blood vessels from
heart.
d. Diaphragm: dome-shaped muscle that separates thoracic cavity from the
abdominopelvic cavity.
•Abdominopelvic cavity: from diaphragm to groin and
encircled by abdominal muscle wall and bones and
muscles of the pelvis.
a. Abdominal cavity (superior): contains stomach, spleen,
liver, gallbladder, small intestines, and most of large
intestines.
b. Pelvic cavity (inferior): urinary bladder, portions of large
intestine, internal organs of reproductive system.
•Viscera: organs in the thoracic and abdominopelvic
cavities.
