Course Description:

This course is 16 weeks long with three hours every

week.
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 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.
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.
 CHAPTER 1

The Human Body :

An Orientation
 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,
 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.
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
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
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 ,
Body systems:The human body
has 11 systems
1-INTEGUMENTARY
ORGANS
 Skin

FUNCTIONS
 Waterproofs, cushions,

protects deeper tissue

 Excretes salts & urea; pain,

pressure
 Regulates body temp;

synthesize vitamin D
2-SKELETAL
ORGANS
 Bones, cartilages, ligaments,

joints

FUNCTIONS
 Protects & supports body

organs
 Framework for muscles &

movement
 Hematopoiesis; store

minerals
3- MUSCULAR
ORGANS
 Skeletal muscle (attached to

bone)

FUNCTIONS
 Contraction & mobility

(locomotion)
 Facial expression, posture
 Produce body heat
4- NERVOUS

ORGANS
 Brain, spinal cord, nerves, &

sensory receptors

FUNCTIONS
 Fast-acting central control

system
 Responds to external/internal

stimuli via nerve impulses

(electrical messages)
5- ENDOCRINE
ORGANS
 Pituitary, thyroid,

parathyroids, adrenals,
thymus, pancreas, pineal,
ovaries, testes…..etc.

FUNCTIONS
 Slow -acting control system
 Glands produce hormones

that regulate growth,

reproduction, metabolism,
…. etc.
6- Circulatory
ORGANS
 Heart, blood vessels,

capillaries &blood

FUNCTIONS
 Carries O nutrients,
2
hormones, & other
substances to and from tissue
cells
 White blood cells protect

against bacteria, toxins,

tumors
7- LYMPHATIC
ORGANS
 Lymphatic vessels, lymph

nodes, spleen, tonsils

FUNCTIONS
 Complements circulatory

system by returning leaked

fluid back to blood vessels
 Cleanses the blood;

involved in immunity
8- RESPIRATORY
ORGANS
 Nasal cavity, pharynx,

larynx, trachea, bronchi, &

lungs

FUNCTIONS
 Keeps blood supplied with

O2 & removes CO2

 Carries out gas exchanges
through air sacs in lungs
9- DIGESTIVE
ORGANS
 Oral cavity, esophagus,

stomach, small intestine,

large intestine, rectum,
anus (liver & pancreas)

FUNCTIONS
 Breaks food down into

absorbable units that enter

the blood; indigestible food
eliminated as feces
10- URINARY (EXCRETORY)
ORGANS
 Kidney, ureter, urinary

bladder, urethra

FUNCTIONS
 Eliminates nitrogenous

waste from the body (urea &

uric acid)
 Regulates water,

electrolytes, & acid-base

balance of the blood
11- REPRODUCTIVE
ORGANS
 Male
 Seminal vesicles, prostate,

penis, vas deferens, testis,

scrotum
 Female

 Ovaries, mammary glands,

uterus, vagina, uterine

tube

FUNCTIONS
 Primary function for both

sexes is to produce offspring

 Male – testes produce sperm

& male sex hormones

 Female – ovaries produce eggs

& female sex hormones;

mammary glands for
Maintaining Life
I-Necessary Life Functions : All living
organisms carry out certain vital
functional activities necessary for life,
including :
1-Maintenance of boundaries: Every
living organism must maintain its inside
distinct from outside.
-All the cells are surrounded by a
selectively permeable membrane.
-The body as a whole is enclosed and
protected by the integumentary system, or
skin, which protects our internal organs
from drying out, bacteria, heat, sunlight,
2-Movement :
-It includes the activities promoted
by the muscular system , the
skeletal system provides the bony
framework that the muscles pull on
as they work.
-Movement also occurs when
substances such as blood,
foodstuffs, and urine are propelled
through internal organs .
- On the cellular level, the muscle
cell’s ability to move by shortening
3- Responsiveness or irritability,
is the ability to sense changes (stimuli)
in the environment and then respond to
them.
-you involuntarily pull your hand away
from the painful stimulus .
-When carbon dioxide in your blood
rises to dangerously high levels, your
breathing rate speeds up.
Because nerve cells are highly
irritable and communicate rapidly with
each other via electrical impulses, the
nervous system is most involved with
responsiveness. However, all body cells
4-Digestion :is the breaking down
of ingested foodstuffs to simple
molecules that can be absorbed into
the blood. The nutrient-rich blood is
then distributed to all body cells by
the cardiovascular system.
In a simple, one-celled organism
such as an amoeba, the cell itself is
the “digestion factory,” but in the
multicellular human body, the
digestive system performs this
function for the entire body.
5- Metabolism is a broad term that
includes all chemical reactions that
occur within body cells. It includes
breaking down substances into their
simpler building blocks (catabolism),
synthesizing more complex cellular
structures from simpler substances
(anabolism), and using nutrients and
oxygen to produce (via cellular
respiration) ATP, that power cellular
activities.
Metabolism depends on the digestive
and respiratory systems to make
6- Excretion is the process of
removing excreta (ek-skre′tah), or
wastes, from the body. – The
digestive system rids the body of
indigestible food residues in feces.
-The urinary system disposes of
nitrogen-containing metabolic
wastes, such as urea, in urine.
- Carbon dioxide, a by-product of
cellular respiration, is carried in
the blood to the lungs, where it
leaves the body in exhaled air.
7- Reproduction : is making a whole new
person which is the major task of the
reproductive system.
- When a sperm unites with an egg, a
fertilized egg forms, which then develops
into a baby within the mother’s body.
- The reproductive system is regulated by
hormones of the endocrine system.
- Because males produce sperm and
females produce eggs (ova), there is a
division of labor in the reproductive
process, and the reproductive organs of
males and females are different .
- The female’s reproductive structures
8- Growth is an increase in
size of a body part or the
organism. It is usually
accomplished by increasing
the number of cells. However,
individual cells also increase
in size when not dividing. For
true growth to occur,
constructive activities must
 II.Survival Needs
Survival needs include:
1-nutrients
Nutrients, taken in via the diet, contain the
chemical substances used for energy and cell
building.
-Carbohydrates are the major energy fuel for
body cells.
- Proteins, and to a lesser extent fats, are
essential for building cell structures.
- Fats also provide a reserve of energy-rich
fuel.
- Selected minerals and vitamins are
required for the chemical reactions that go on
2- Oxygen : All the nutrients in the
world are useless unless oxygen is
also available. Because the chemical
reactions that release energy from
foods are oxidative reactions that
require oxygen, human cells can
survive for only a few minutes
without oxygen. Approximately 20%
of the air we breathe is oxygen. It is
made available to the blood and
body cells by the cooperative efforts
of the respiratory and cardiovascular
3- Water accounts for 60–80%
of body weight and is the single
most abundant chemical
substance in the body. It
provides the watery
environment necessary for
chemical reactions and the
fluid base for body secretions
and excretions. Water is
obtained chiefly from ingested
4- If chemical reactions are to
continue at life-sustaining rates,
normal body temperature must
be maintained. As body
temperature drops below 37°C
(98.6°F), metabolic reactions
become slower and slower, and
finally stop. When body
temperature is too high, body
proteins lose their characteristic
shape and stop functioning. At
either extreme, death occurs. Most
5- Atmospheric pressure is the force
that air exerts on the surface of the body.
Breathing and gas exchange in the lungs
depend on appropriate atmospheric
pressure. At high altitudes, where
atmospheric pressure is lower and the air
is thin, gas exchange may be inadequate
to support cellular metabolism.
Notice :The mere presence of these
survival factors is not sufficient to
sustain life. They must be present in
appropriate amounts; excesses and
Homeostasis
 Describes the body’s ability

to maintain relatively stable

internal conditions even
though the outside world is
continuously changing
 The literal translation of

homeostasis is
“unchanging,”( homeo= the
same, stasis = standing
The term does not really
mean a static, or
unchanging, state. Rather,
it indicates a dynamic
state of equilibrium, or a
balance, in which internal
conditions vary, but
always within relatively
narrow limits. In general,
Mechanisms
Communication within the body
is essential for homeostasis.
Communication is accomplished
chiefly by the nervous and
endocrine systems, which use
neural electrical impulses or blood
borne hormones, respectively, as
information carriers.
Regardless of the factor being
regulated(the variable)all
homeostatic control mechanisms
have at least three interdependent
components .
The first component, the
receptor, is some type of sensor
that monitors the environment
and responds to changes, called
stimuli, by sending information
(input) to the second
component, the control center.
Input flows from the receptor to
the control center along the so-
called afferent pathway. The
 The third component, the
effector, provides the means of
response (output) to the stimulus.
Information flows from the
control center to the effector
along the efferent pathway. The
results of the response then feed
back to influence the stimulus,
either depressing it (negative
feedback) so that the whole
control mechanism is shut off or
enhancing it (positive feedback)
 Homeostatic control
mechanisms are TWO:
 Negative feedback mechanisms
– the net effect of the response
to the stimulus is the shut off
of the original stimulus or to
reduce its intensity
 E.g. – body temp, blood

chemical levels
 Positive feedback mechanisms

– tend to increase the original

disturbance (stimulus) and
Negative Feedback
Mechanisms
Most homeostatic control
mechanisms are negative
feedback mechanisms. In these
systems, the output shuts off the
original stimulus or reduces its
intensity. These mechanisms cause
the variable to change in a
direction opposite to that of the
initial change, returning it to its
“ideal” value; thus the name
 A good example of a
nonbiological negative feedback
system is a home heating system
connected to a temperature-
sensing thermostat . If the
thermostat is set at 20°C (68°F),
the heating system (effector) is
triggered ON when the house
temperature drops below that
setting. As the furnace produces
 This process results in a
cycling of “furnace-ON” and
“furnace-OFF” so that the
temperature in the house
stays very near the desired
temperature of 20°C. Your
body “thermostat,” located
in a part of your brain called
the hypothalamus, operates
Positive Feedback
Mechanisms
In positive feedback
mechanisms, the result or
response enhances the original
stimulus so that the activity
(output) is accelerated. This
feedback mechanism is
“positive” because the change
that occurs proceeds in the same
direction as the initial
In contrast to negative feedback
controls, which maintain many
physiological functions or keep
blood chemicals within narrow
ranges, positive feedback
mechanisms usually control
infrequent events that do not
require continuous adjustments.
However, TWO familiar
examples of their use as
 The body’s ability to regulate its
internal environment is
fundamental, and all negative
feedback mechanisms have the
same goal: preventing sudden
severe changes within the body.
Body temperature and blood
volume are only two of the
variables that need to be
regulated. There are hundreds!
Other negative feedback
mechanisms regulate heart rate,
Homeostasis is so important that most
disease can be regarded as a result of
its disturbance, a condition called
homeostatic imbalance. As we age, our
body’s control systems become less
efficient, and our internal environment
becomes less and less stable. These events
increase our risk for illness and produce
the changes we associate with aging.
Examples of homeostatic imbalance are
provided throughout this course to
enhance understanding of normal
physiological mechanisms.
The Language of Anatomy
 Anatomical Position
 Standing erect
 Feet parallel
 Arms hanging at the sides
 Palms facing forward

Anatomical position – body is

erect with the feet parallel and
the arms hanging at the sides
with the palms facing forward.
(It’s important to note
throughout this course, most
terminology refers to this
position regardless of the
position the body happens to
Directional terms
 Superior (cranial or cephalad) –
toward the head end or upper part of
a structure or body; above
 Inferior (caudal) – away from the head
end or toward the lower part of a
structure or body; below
 Anterior (ventral) – toward or at the
front of the body; in front of
 Posterior (dorsal) – toward or at the
backside of the body; behind
 Medial – toward or at the midline of
the body; on the inner side of
 Lateral – away from the midline of the
 Proximal – close to the origin
of the body part or the point
of attachment of a limb to the
body trunk.
 Distal – farther from the

origin of a body or the point

of attachment of a limb to the
body trunk.
 Superficial (external) –

toward or at the body

surface.
Examples:
 The navel is inferior to the breastbone

 The heart is posterior to the breastbone

 The arms are lateral to the chest
 The elbow is proximal to the wrist
 The skin is superficial to the skeleton

 The forehead is superior to the nose

 The breastbone is anterior to the spine

 The heart is medial to the arm

 The armpit is intermediate between the

breastbone and the shoulder

 The knee is distal to the thigh

 The lungs are deep to the rib cage

1. The navel is --------------to the
breastbone
2. The heart is ------------- to the
breastbone
3. The arms are ------------ to the
chest
4. The elbow is ------------ to the wrist
5. The skin is ------------- to the
skeleton
6. The forehead is ------------------ to
the nose
7. The breastbone is------------ to the
spine
8. The heart is ------------to the arm
9. The armpit is ---------between the
Body planes and sections
A section is a cut made along a plane
 Sagittal – cut made along the

lengthwise or longitudinal plane of

the body dividing it into left and right
parts
 Midsagittal (median) plane – right

and left parts are of equal size

 Frontal (coronal) plane – cut made

along a lengthwise plane that divides

the body into anterior and posterior
parts
 Transverse plane (cross section) – cut

made along a horizontal plane

 Planes
 Sagittal Plane –
divides body into
right and left
parts.
 Midsagittal
=median

plane –divides
body into two
equal halves.
 Planes
 Frontal = coronal
plane – divides
body into anterior
and posterior parts
 Planes
Transverse plane
= cross
Section= horizontal
section divides
into upper and
lower parts
Regional terms
There are many visible
landmarks on the surface
of the body:
- Anterior body
landmarks
- Posterior body
landmarks
Body Cavities
There are two sets of internal body
cavities called the dorsal and ventral
body cavities. These cavities are
closed to the outside.
1-Dorsal Body Cavity
Which protects the fragile nervous
system organs has two subdivisions.
The cranial cavity, in the skull,
encases the brain. The vertebral, or
spinal, cavity, which runs within the
bony vertebral column, encloses the
2- Ventral Body Cavity
The more anterior and larger of the
closed body cavities is the ventral body
cavity .It has two major subdivisions, the
thoracic and the abdominopelvic
cavities. It houses internal organs
collectively called the viscera .
They are separated by the diaphragm, a
dome-shaped muscle important in
breathing.
The abdominopelvic cavity, as its name
suggests, has two parts not physically
separated by a muscular or membrane
HOMEOSTATIC IMBALANCE
When the body is subjected to
physical trauma (as often
happens in an automobile
accident), the abdominopelvic
organs are most vulnerable. This
is because the walls of the
abdominal cavity are formed only
by trunk muscles and are not
reinforced by bone. The pelvic
Abdominopelvic Regions and
Quadrants
Because the abdominopelvic cavity is
large and contains several organs, it helps
to divide it into smaller areas for study.
One division method, used primarily by
anatomists, uses two transverse and two
parasagittal planes. These planes, divide
the cavity into nine regions :
-The umbilical region is the centermost
region deep to and surrounding the
umbilicus (navel).
Abdominopelvic
Regions
-The epigastric region is located superior to the
umbilical region (epi = upon, above; gastri =
belly).

-The hypogastric (pubic) region is located

inferior to the umbilical region (hypo = below).

-The right and left iliac, or inguinal, regions

(ing′gwĭ-nal) are located lateral to the
hypogastric region (iliac = superior part of the
hip bone).

-The right and left lumbar regions lie lateral to

the umbilical region (lumbus = loin).

-The right and left hypochondriac regions flank

A simpler scheme to localize the
abdominopelvic cavity organs is to
imagine one transverse and one
median sagittal plane pass
through the umbilicus at right
angles. The resulting quadrants
are named according to their
positions from the subject’s point
of view:
right upper quadrant (RUQ),
left upper quadrant (LUQ),
Abdominopelvic
Quadrants