NUR112: ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

ISU Echague – College of Nursing

Module 1

Human Body Orientation, Terms and Organization

Overview/Introduction

Nursing is a degree who takes care of people sick and well. One of the most
important subjects that must be mastered by nursing students is Human Anatomy and
Physiology. Understanding the normal structure, function as well as its relationship with the
different body parts helps you to understand more complex concepts especially when you
reach a level where subjects talk about disease and how to care for them. With mastery of this
subject, you will build a strong foundation in facing future nursing concepts and will soon help
you develop basis for decision making related to your field.

This chapter is designed to help you understand the terminologies used in the entire
concepts of nursing and in health in general. Since your textbooks and the field of health uses
these terminologies, it is imperative that you familiarize yourself with it. It will be easier for you
to communicate and document events using these terms. With strong vocabulary,
miscommunication will be reduced and you will less likely commit errors in your activities. An
error in caring of patients could cascade into detrimental and irreversible damage to your
patients. You must also understand that this module will only be a guide to learning and is not
enough to understand the entirety of the field. I strongly recommend you find supplemental
learnings on your own and buy a Medical Dictionary.

3. Learning Outcome/Objective

After this module, you are expected to

1. Define on your own words Anatomy and Physiology
2. Describe the different levels of structural organizations of the body and give an
example of each
3. identify the different body systems and state one function of it
4. Identify the different regional terminologies used in denoting different body parts
5. Describe the different characteristics of life.
6. Compare and contrast Positive and Negative Feedback Mechanism and give an
example of each

4. Learning Content/Topic

Anatomy is the study of the structures and shape of the body and its parts and their
relationship to one another. Physiology is the study of how the body and its parts work and
function. These concepts are always inseparable because that body is organized so well in
such a way that their structure must perform a specific function. The heart cannot protect the
body from physical impact while the bones cannot pump blood . Understanding the relationship
of Anatomy and Physiology will help you understand how well the body is designed for it to
maintain its survival and adaptation.
The body is organized in different structural complexities. The simplest level if the ladder
is the chemical level. At this level, atoms, tiny building blocks of matter, combine to form
molecules such as sugar, proteins, fats etc. Each of these atoms unite to form a larger
structure to perform a specific function called cells. Each cells in the body are different
because they have different function. The cells of the liver is different from the cells of the
intestines and they also have different function. These cells can again unite to form larger
structures to perform specific function called tissues. Different tissues again have different
structure and shape because they have different functions. Epithelial tissues are different from
muscle tissues. Group of tissues can again join into organs to perform a specific function. Your
stomach is made of different tissues. It contains muscle tissues, epithelial tissues and nervous
tissues. These tissues function cooperatively to perform a specific function, that is digest foods

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ISU Echague – College of Nursing

in the stomach. Group of organs can again join together to perform a bigger role called organ
systems (or simply System). The digestive system is made of different organs like the tongue ,
teeth, salivary glands, esophagus, stomach and intestines. Theses organs function as one to
enable the body absorb nutrients from the environment. The body is not enough with the
digestive system alone. It must work synergistically work with other body systems for it to
maintain survival and adaptation. With all the body systems working together, you make up an
organism

The following are the body systems that we will talk about in deeper detail as we go
through this subject

1. Integumentary System – forms the external covering of the body. It protects your
body from mechanical, thermal, chemical injuries. It contains nerves that helps you
detect changes in the environment. It can also help you synthesize vit D as you are
exposed to sunlight

2. Skeletal System – Made of hard calcified bones that acts as a framework of the
body. It works with the muscular system to produce movement. It also protects
internal organs and site of blood formation

3. Muscular System – Made of muscles and functions for movement and locomotion.
It also helps the body in maintaining body heat

4. Nervous System – a fast acting control system and responds to internal and
external changes by activating appropriate muscles and glands

5. Endocrine System – made of glands that secrets hormones that regulate and
process different metabolic activities by the body

6. Cardiovascular System – made of the heart and blood vessels that transports
blood to bring oxygen to different body parts.

7. Lymphatic System – picks up fluid leaked from blood vessels and returns it to
blood, it houses white blood cells and is involved in immunity

8. Respiratory system – keeps blood constantly supplied with oxygen and removes
carbon dioxide. It also helps the body maintain its normal acidity

9. Digestive system – breaks food down into absorbable nutrients that enter the blood
for distribution of the body cells

10. Urinary system – it is made of complex filtering mechanism that eliminates nitrogen
containing wastes from the body. It regulates water and electrolyte in the body

11. Reproductive system – it is a made of different organs that enables humans to

reproduce passing the genetic material of the parents to the offspring.

These organs function together to ensure survival of a person. If one of these organs fail to
function well, a disease may arise and it could lead to death. A well-functioning body system can
maintain the person in good health because it can keep the body in a state of balance. The ability of
the person to maintain a state of balance is called Homeostasis. An example of this is the healthy
body having a normal temperature (36.5C to 37.5C).

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Regardless of the factor being regulated, homeostatic control has three components.

 Receptor - type of sensor that monitors the internal and external environment
 Control center - the one who determines the normal value or range (set point) of an
event
 Effector - the one who responds to the stimulus.

In the case of temperature regulation, the hypothalamus acts as the receptor and control
center and many organs are its effector. If the temperature of the body drops to 35C because of a
cold environment, the hypothalamus detects this change. Since this is below the normal temperature
range (36.5C - 37.5C), the muscles (effector) may respond by shivering to produce mechanical heat
and bring back the body temperature to its normal range. Once the body reaches the normal range
(36.5 to 37.5 C), the hypothalamus (control center) will command the body to stop shivering. On the
other hand if the body becomes warmer (38.5C) than the normal range, the hypothalamus (Control
Center) will stimulate the skin (effector) to sweat to release the body heat until it goes back to the
normal range. This is how the body maintains the body temperature (Homeostasis)

Homeostasis can be maintained either by Positive or Negative Feedback Mechanism. The

above example in temperature regulation is a good example of a Negative Feedback Mechanism.
When the Stimulus that started the Homeostatic adjustment has been brought to Normal Range , the
mechanism shuts down, until a new stimulus is detected. In contrast, the Positive Feedback
Mechanism enhances the response of a previous stimulus. A classic example of this is when a
woman is giving birth. When the fetus descends in the birth canal, the contraction of the uterus
intensifies more and more until the fetus is successfully delivered.

When Homeostatic mechanism fails, there will be homeostatic imbalance and the patient may
become sick or die. The following are characteristics of life.
1. Organization: all parts of an organism interact to perform specific functions

2. Metabolism: the chemical and physical changes taking place in an organism

3. Responsiveness: adjustments that maintain their internal environment

4. Growth: increase in size of all or part of the organism

5. Development: changes an organism undergoes through time

6. Reproduction: formation of new cells or new organisms

Terminologies used in the study of Human Anatomy and Physiology

Familiarize yourself with the terminologies used in this course because you will see them very
often. Having a good vocabulary will help you understand this course better.
In using medical terms and directional terms, always think of the person in anatomical position
where the body is erect with feet parallel with arms hanging at the sides with palms facing forward.
Directional terms allow us to understand and describe the relationship of body parts with its other.

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ISU Echague – College of Nursing

Term Definition
Superior Toward the end or upper part of a structure or the body
Inferior Away from the head end or toward the lower part of a structure
Anterior (Ventral) Toward or at the front of the body
Posterior (Dorsal ) Toward or at the back side of the body
Medial Toward the Midline of the body
Lateral Away from the midline of the body
Proximal Close to the origin of the body part or point of attachment
Distal Farther from the origin of the body

Regional terms use landmarks in the body. These medical landmarks makes use of structures usually
found around that area. You can review the Skeletal system and Muscular System and correlate the
bones and muscles with the regional terms used in each landmark. Refer to the figure and table below

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ISU Echague – College of Nursing

The abdomen can also

be divided into different
regions as follows.

The body can still be

divided into planes.

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ISU Echague – College of Nursing

The following are the common terms used for the different body planes.
Sagittal plane: divides the body into left and right parts
Transverse plane: divides the body into superior and inferior parts
Frontal (coronal) plane: divides the body into anterior and posterior parts

Imaginary lines can also be used as a reference point used by an anatomist.

examples of these are the following

1. Sternal line
2. Inner clavicular line
3. Midclavicular line
4. Outer clavicular line

You might also meet other terminologies using the

imaginary lines like Outer clavicular
lineline line
InnerMidclavicular
clavicular
1. Vertebral lines Sternal line
2. Axillary lines (inner, mid, outer).
3. scapular lines (inner, mid, outer)

4. Teaching and Learning Activities

Library work (supplemental topics)

Study of Anatomy and Physiology has its unique vocabulary. Medical Terminologies used are
very dynamic such that root words, prefixes and suffices are used. In addition to the
directional terms and regional terms used in this module, list as many terms using the table
below as a format

Term Root word Prefix/Suffix Meaning

Example
Adrenal Renal (Kidney) Ad (above) An organ above the kidney

Tachycardia Cardia (heart) Tachy (increased) Increased heart rate

Hyperventilation Ventilation Hyper (increased) Increased depth and rate of breathing
(Breathing)

Experiential learning

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ISU Echague – College of Nursing

Write your experience about the following activities.

1. Using a thermometer, measure your temperature and describe how you feel
2. Wear two sweaters and jog stationarily for 1 minute.
3. Describe how you felt and experience before, during and after the activity.

6. Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (FTLM) adapted

You will be given Edmodo problem sets after completion of this module

Watch my lecture about this chapter in my YouTube Channel (MARK GALING CHANNEL)
and then like, comment and subscribe.

7. Assessment Task

1. Using your own language or dialect, define Anatomy and Physiology and describe their
relationship
2. Arrange the organization of human body from smallest to biggest
3. Match the body system with their function (matching type)
4. Supply the regional terms that matches each landmark
5. Identify the characteristics of life that is being described
6. Give examples of positive and negative feedback mechanism

References:

Geb, Elaine N. (2019), Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology, 8th Edition

Philip (2009), Seely’s Principles of Anatomy and Physiology