Anatomy Essentials For Dummies

Maggie Norris is a freelance science writer. Donna Rae Siegfried has instructed anatomy and physiology courses at the college level. They are the coauthors of Anatomy & Physiology For Dummies, 2nd Edition.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Conventions Used in This Book 2

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 2

Where to Go from Here 3

Chapter 1: Focusing on the Framework of Anatomy and Physiology 5

Looking at the Science of Anatomy and Physiology 6

Fitting anatomy and physiology into science 6

Breaking down the subsets of anatomy 6

Familiarizing Yourself with Anatomical Jargon 7

Arranging Organisms by Levels of Organization 10

Level I: The cellular level 10

Level II: The tissue level 10

Level III: The organ level 12

Level IV: The organ system level 12

Level V: The organism level 12

Metabolism: Keeping Body Processes in Motion 12

Seeing why your cells metabolize 13

Understanding the process behind cellular metabolism 14

Balancing Bodily Reactions with Homeostasis 18

Regulating body temperature 18

Maintaining a fluid balance 19

Examining blood glucose concentration 20

Gauging variables that keep the body balanced 21

Chapter 2: Examining Cell Biology Basics 23

How Cells Spend Their Time 23

Creating new cells 24

Manufacturing tissues 24

Constructing and moving products 24

Transmitting signals around the body 25

Exploring Eukaryotic Cells 25

Enclosing it all with the cell membrane 27

Relinquishing control to the nucleus 29

Giving the organelles a place to hang in the cytoplasm 29

Seeing how mitochondria provide energy to cells 29

Producing protein in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) 30

Taking out the trash with lysosomes 30

Macromolecules, the Building Blocks of Life 31

Naming the nucleic acids and nucleotides 31

Energizing organisms with polysaccharides 32

Peeking at proteins 32

Discovering How Genetic Material Makes You Who You are 33

Cycling through Life, Cell-Style 34

Progressing through interphase 34

Pushing ahead to DNA replication 34

Entering mitosis 35

Forming Tissues from Cells 37

Linking structures with connective tissue 37

Reviewing types of epithelial tissue 38

Chapter 3: Scoping Out the Body’s Structural Layers 41

The Skinny on Your Skeleton 42

Examining the skeleton’s makeup 42

Surveying joints and their movements 45

The 411 on the Muscular System 48

Seeing what your skeletal muscles do 48

Taking a look at tissue types 51

Making muscles contract: The sliding filament model 56

An Introduction to the Integument 58

Studying up on the structure of the integument 59

Accessorizing your skin 62

Chapter 4: Getting to the Heart of the Circulatory System 65

Analyzing the Cardiac Anatomy 65

Examining the shape of the heart 66

Looking at the heart’s tissues 68

Observing how blood flows to (and from) the heart 69

Meet Your Blood Vessels 70

Beginning at the arteries 71

Moving on to the capillaries 72

Traveling through the veins 74

Discovering What’s in Your Blood 76

Plasma: Your protein carrier 76

Red blood cells: In charge of moving O2 and CO2 77

Platelets: The clotting cells 78

White blood cells: The body’s defenders 78

Focusing on the Physiology of Circulation 78

The cardiac cycle: Conducting electricity 79

On the beating path: Blood flow through the heart and body 81

Measuring the importance of blood pressure 83

Hemostasis: Stopping the flow 84

Chapter 5: Taking a Deep Breath with the Respiratory System 85

Surveying the Duties of the Respiratory System 85

Nosing around Your Respiratory Anatomy 86

An entrance to the system: The nose 87

Passing through the pharynx 87

Winding through the windpipe, or trachea 88

The lungs: The pair that just don’t quit 89

Exchanging gases at the respiratory membrane 90

The comptroller of ventilation: The diaphragm 91

Discovering the Ins and Outs of Breathing 92

Breathing under normal conditions 92

Seeing how stress affects breathing 94

Controlling your breathing 94

Chapter 6: Getting on Track with the Digestive System 97

Your Digestive System in a Nutshell 98

Moving through the Structures of the Digestive Tract 99

Allowing entry: The mouth 99

Sending food to the stomach: The pharynx and esophagus 100

Lining it up: The walls 101

Breaking it all down: The stomach 102

Importing and exporting: The intestines 103

Doing the Chemical Breakdown 105

The liver 106

The pancreas 108

Digestive fluids, enzymes, and hormones 109

Chapter 7: Passing through the Urinary System 111

Running Down the Urinary System’s Responsibilities 111

Surveying the Structures of the Urinary System 113

Creating urine: The kidneys 113

Holding and releasing: The urinary tract 115

The Yellow River 117

Looking at the composition of urine 117

Filtering the blood 118

Reabsorbing selectively 119

Expelling urine 120

Maintaining Homeostasis 120

Connecting fluid balance and blood pressure 121

Regulating blood pH 122

Chapter 8: Making Babies: The Reproductive System 125

Surveying the Functions of the Reproductive System 125

Making Gametes 126

Crossing over with meiosis 127

Producing female gametes: Ova 127

Developing male gametes: Sperm 129

Merging ova and sperm to determine sex 129

The Egg-citing Female Reproductive System 130

A woman’s reproductive organs 130

A woman’s (approximately) monthly cycle 133

Furthering Fertilization: The Male Reproductive System 136

A man’s reproductive organs 137

Seminal fluid and ejaculation 138

Pausing for Pregnancy 139

Achieving fertilization 139

Succeeding with implantation 140

Adapting to pregnancy 140

Going through labor and delivery 142

Chapter 9: Exploring the Nervous, Endocrine, and Immune Systems 143

Controlling it All: The Nervous System 144

Surveying the neural tissues 144

Traveling the integrated networks 147

Sending Messages Chemical-Style with the Endocrine System 149

Homing in on hormones 150

Grouping the glands 152

Defending Your “Self” with the Immune System 155

Loving Your Lymphatic System 156

Identifying immune system cells 158

Chapter 10: Ten Phabulous Physiology Phacts 161

Only Humans Have Opposable Thumbs 161

Human Milk is the Best Milk 162

You’re (Surprisingly) as Hairy as a Gorilla 162

You Can Process Fear and Emotion 163

You Smell Like You See 163

Your Mouth is More Efficient Than a Chimp’s 164

Millions of Microbes Owe You Their Lives 164

Oxygen Can be Dangerous 164

You Can Control Your Breathing but Fido Can’t 165

Hemoglobin Dominates Your Red Blood Cells 166

Index 167