The Human Body , An Orientation

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THE HUMAN BODY : AN ORIENTATION This chapter is devoted to the study of internal morphology, body wall and coelom of man. Knowledge of some of these topics may prove useful to the study of human anatomy and physiology. ANATOMY (Ana – up, Tome – Cutting) Study of internal structure of body with naked eye after dissection. Branches : (A) Gross Anatomy : Study of large internal structures e.g. Heart, liver, Kidney. (B) Microanatomy : Study of smaller internal structures with the help of microscope. It is divided into two branch. (a) Histology – Study of tissues. (b) Cytology – Study of structure of cell. (C) Developmental Anatomy : Study of structural changes in an individual from conception to old age. (D) Pathological Anatomy : Study of structural changes in cells, tissues and organs due to disease. (E) Radiography Anatomy : Study of anatomy by means of radiographic images. PHYSIOLOGY : (Physics – Functioning, logos – study) Study of various body functions. e.g. Digestion, respiration, excretion etc. It has following branches : (A) Physical Physiology: Study of physical activities which take place in the body e.g. pumping of heart, contraction of muscles. (B) Chemical physiology: Study of chemical changes which take place in the body e.g. hydrolytic breakdown of food, Breakdown of glucose in respiration, protein synthesis etc. Note : Both Anatomy and physiology are Complementary to each other because without structure functioning can not take place. Hierarchy of structural organization in humans : Organisation is a systematic arrangement of smaller and simpler components in to larger and more complex ones in a hierarchy of levels, where each higher level is formed of components of lower level and itself becomes a part of still higher level for achieving a common goal.

Following types of organization found in humans : (A) Atomic level : It is a basic unit of organization in human beings. An atom is made up of smaller or subatomic particles like electrons, protons and neutrons e.g. Atoms of C, H, O, N. (B) Molecular level : Atoms become associated to form molecules. The molecules found in living system are known as biomolecules. e.g. – Molecules of protein, lipid, starch etc. (C) Sub cellular level – Different biomolecules combine to form cell organelles e.g. cell membrane, mitochondria etc. (D) Cellular level : Cell organelles associate to each other and form cell which is the structural and functional unit of human body. e.g. muscle cell, nerve cell etc. (E) Tissue level : Cells are organised into tissue each of which has a common origin and function. e.g. Epithelial, connective, muscular and nervous tissue. (F) Organ level : Tissues are aggregated to form organs, each with a specific function. e.g. Kidney, Heart etc. (G) Organ System level : Organs coordinate their functioning to form an organ system e.g. Digestive, respiratory and excretory system. (H) Organismic or Individual level : A distinct entity or individual is formed by the integration of organ systems.