Chapter 1

Major Themes of Anatomy & Physiology

Structure and Function
Origins of Biomedical
Science
Scientific Method
Human Evolution
Nature of Life
Homeostasis

Anatomy - The Study of Form

Observation of surface structure
Cadaver dissection is cutting & separation of
tissues to study their relationships
Comparative anatomy is the study of more than
one species to analyze evolutionary trends
Physical examination
palpation, auscultation (with a stethoscope), percussion

Gross anatomy is what is visible with naked eye

Histology is examination of cells with microscope

Physiology - The Study of Function

Study of bodily functions by use of methods of
experimental science
Comparative physiology involves the study of
different species
Basis for the development of new drugs and
medical procedures

Beginnings of Medicine
Physicians in Mesopotamia & Egypt 3000 years ago
used herbal drugs, salts & physical therapy
Greek physician Hippocrates established a code of
ethics & urged physicians to seek causes of disease
Aristotle called causes for disease physiologi & said
that complex structures are built from simpler parts
Galen, physician to the Roman gladiators, saw science
as a method of discovery
did animal dissections since use of cadavers banned
wrote book advising followers to trust their own observation

Birth of Modern Medicine

Little advancement during the Middle ages since medicine was taught as
dogma with no new ideas
Avicenna from Muslim world supported free inquiry over authority
wrote The Canon of Medicine, used in medical schools until 16th century

Vesalius accurately illustrated gross anatomy in 1543

Harvey realized blood flow out from heart & back in 1628
Leeuwenhoek invented microscope to look at fabrics (1632-1723)
Hooke and Zeiss (1830)developed & improved compound microscope
(wrote Micrographia in 1665)
Schleiden & Schwann thought that all organisms were composed of cells
-- cell theory of 1839
Clinical practice was in dismal state
bleeding patients to remove toxins, operate with dirty hands, no anesthesia for
amputations

Living in a Revolution
Pioneers in establishing the scientific way of
thinking occurred in 19th & 20th centuries
germ theory of disease
mechanisms of heredity & structure of DNA

Now, on threshold of modern biomedical science

Technology enhanced diagnostic ability & lifesupport strategies
Verge of a genetic revolution due to library of the
molecular structure of every human gene

Scientific Method
Bacon (1561-1626) and Descartes (1596-1650)
were not scientists but did invent new habits of
scientific thought
scientific method as habits of disciplined creativity, careful
observations, logical thinking & analysis of observations
way of seeking trends & drawing generalizations

Convinced governments of England & France to

form academies of science that still exist today
Scientific way of thinking based on assumptions
& methods that are reliable, objective & testable

Inductive Method
First described by philosopher Francis Bacon
Making observations until capable of drawing
generalizations and making predictions
anatomy is a product of inductive method

Proof in science can not go past proved beyond

reasonable doubt
reliable methods of observation
tested and confirmed repeatedly
not falsified by any credible observation

In science, all truth is tentative

Hypothetico-Deductive Method
Physiological knowledge gained by this method
Ask a question and formulate a hypothesis -- an
educated possible answer
Good hypothesis
consistent with what is already known
capable of being tested and falsified

Falsifiability means that certain evidence would

prove something wrong
if nothing could prove it wrong, it is not a scientific
belief

Proper Experimental Design

Sufficient sample size to prevent chance event
Control group receiving the same treatment except for
the variable being tested
Prevention of psychosomatic effects
use of placebo in control group

Experimenter bias
prevented with double-blind study

Statistical testing to be sure the difference between

groups was not random, but was due to variable being
tested

Peer Review
Critical evaluation by other experts in the
field
Ensures honesty, objectivity & quality in
science

Facts, Laws and Theories

Scientific fact is information that can be
independently verified by any trained person
iron deficiency leads to anemia

Law of nature is a generalization about the way

matter and energy behave -- resulting from
inductive reasoning & repeated observations
first law of thermodynamics is that energy can be
converted from one form to another but not destroyed

Theory is an explanatory statement that makes

predictions and suggests areas for further study
sliding filament theory, fluid-mosaic theory, cell theory

Human Evolution
Charles Darwin proposed the theory of natural
selection to explain how species originate and
change through time
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
(1859)
The Descent of Man (1871) discussed human evolution
& our relationships to other animals

Changed our view of our origin, our nature & our

place in the universe
Good understanding of our evolutionary history
deepens our understanding of form & function

Evolution, Selection, and Adaptation

Evolution is change in genetic composition of a
population of organisms
development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, new
strains of AIDS virus and new species

Theory of natural selection

some individuals have hereditary advantages
(adaptations) enabling them to produce more offspring
if they pass these characteristics on it brings about a
genetic change in the population (evolution)
forces that favor some individuals over others are called
selection pressures -- climate, disease, etc.

Evidence of Human Evolution

DNA hybridization suggests a difference of only
1.6% in DNA structure between humans &
chimpanzees
Evolutionary developments help explain some
aspects of our anatomy
arrector pili muscle in the skin have no use
auricularis muscles do not move in most people

Evolutionary relationships help us chose animals

for biomedical research
rats & mice used extensively

Life in the Trees

Origin of primates began 60 million years ago
Squirrel-sized, insect-eating mammals became
arboreal probably due to safety, food supply & lack
of competition
shoulder became more mobile (reach any direction)
thumbs became opposable to be able to encircle
branches with thumb & fingers (prehensile)
forward-facing eyes provide (depth perception)
judge distances accurately to jump & catch prey

color vision to distinguish ripe fruit

larger brains & good memory to remember food sources

Walking Upright
African forest became grassland 5 million years ago
Bipedalism (standing & walking on 2 legs) evolved
spot predators, carry food or infants

Adaptations for bipedalism

pelvis, femur, knee, great toe, arch, skull, vertebrae, etc.

Australopithecus (2.5mya) gave rise Homo habilis

taller, larger brain volume, speech, tool-making

Homo erectus (1.1mya) and Homo sapiens (.3mya)

Homo sapiens include Neanderthal & Cro-Magnon

Primate Phylogeny

What is Life?
Properties that distinguish from nonliving things:

organization & cellular composition

biochemical composition (DNA, proteins, etc)
metabolism is transformation of molecules into others
responsiveness is ability to sense & react to stimuli
homeostasis is to maintain stable internal environment
development is change over time (growth or differentiation)
reproduction is producing copies of themselves
evolution is genetic change between generations

Clinical death is no brain waves for 24 hours

What is a Human?
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Class Mammalia
Order Primates
Family Hominidae
Genus Homo
Species Homo sapiens

Human classification within the kingdom Animalia.

Our Chordate Characteristics

Notochord
flexible rod on upper side of
body -- replaced by vertebral
column during development

Dorsal hollow nerve cord

Gill pouches
bulges in throat region develop
into gills in fish & amphibians

Postanal tail
GI tracts end before end of tail
tail in humans visible only in embryo

Our Vertebrate Characteristics

Subphylum Vertebrata
Characteristics of all

internal skeleton
jointed vertebral (spinal) column
well developed brain & sense organs
cranium to protect the brain

Our Mammalian Characteristics

Class Mammalia
Characteristics of all

mammary glands for nourishment of young

hair to retain body heat
endothermy is ability to generate most of body heat
heterodonty is possession of varied types of teeth
single lower jawbone provides for better chewing
3 middle ear bones

Primate & Hominid Characteristics

Order Primates
Characteristics of all

4 upper and lower incisors for front cutting

pair of clavicles (collarbones)
only 2 mammary glands
pendulous penis, attached only at base
forward-facing eyes with stereoscopic vision
flat nails in place of claws
opposable thumbs
Family Hominidae are only bipedal primates
Homo sapiens are only surviving species

Structure - A Hierarchy of Complexity

Subatomic particles compose
atoms
Atoms compose molecules
Molecules compose organelles
Organelles compose cells
Cells compose tissues
Tissues compose organs
Organs compose organ systems
Organ systems compose the
organism

Homeostasis
Hippocrates noted that body normally returns to a
state of equilibrium by itself
needs to detect the change & oppose it

Walter Cannon (1871-1945) coined the term

homeostasis indicating stable internal environment
Internal environment described as dynamic
equilibrium
fluctuates within a range around a certain set point

Negative Feedback and Stability

Mechanism to keep a variable close to its set point
Body senses a change & activates mechanisms to
reverse it

Negative Feedback, Set Point

Room temperature does not stay at set point of 68

degrees -- it only averages 68 degrees

Human Thermoregulation

Temperature sensing nerve cells in base of brain

control shivering, sweating & vasomotor activity
vasodilation & vasoconstriction

Evaporation of water & heat radiation occur

Structures Needed for Feedback Loop

Receptor = structure that senses change
stretch receptors in heart & large blood vessels send
information of an elevated BP to integrator

Integrator = control center

cardiac center in brainstem that signals heart to slow

Effector = structures that carry out commands of

the control center
heart slows and BP decreases

Positive Feedback Loops

Self-amplifying cycle in which a physiological change
leads to an even greater change in the same direction
Normal way of producing changes during birth, blood
clotting, protein digestion & generation of nerve signals

Fever
If temperature rises
above 108 degrees
metabolic rate
increases causing
body to produce
heat faster still

Temperature
increases & cycle
repeats again
Fatal at 113 degrees

Review of Major Themes

Unifying principles behind all aspects of human
anatomy and physiology
cell theory: all structure & function result from the
activity of cells
homeostasis: maintaining stable conditions within the
body
evolution: the body is a product of evolution, molded
by years of natural selection
hierarchy of structure: levels of complexity
unity of form and function: physiology can not be
separated from anatomy

Noninvasive Medical Imaging

Radiography
x-rays discovered by William Roentgen in 1885
penetrate soft tissues of body & darken photographic
film on other side of the body

Sonography
handheld device produces high-frequency ultrasound
waves and receives echoes back from internal organs
obstetrics uses to locate placenta, evaluate fetal age,
position and development
used medically in the 1950s but little value until
computers could develop differences in echoes

Noninvasive Medical Imaging

Computed Tomography (CT scan)
low-intensity X rays applied to the body
computer analysis produces an image of a slice of the
body about as thin as a coin from which a threedimensional image of the body is constructed
tumors, aneurysms, hemorrhages, kidney stones, etc

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

magnetic field aligns hydrogen atoms; radio waves
realign the atoms; when radio is turned off the atoms
give off energy depending on tissue type
computer analysis produces a slice type image

Noninvasive Medical Imaging

Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
assesses the metabolic state of a tissue
injection of radioactively labeled glucose emits
positrons; colliding positrons & electrons give off
gamma rays that are analyzed by computer
color image which tissue were using glucose at the
moment
extent of damaged heart tissue
activity of brain of neurology patients