Scope of human anatomy and physiology

Course Overview When I set out to write an anatomy and physiology full-year curriculum, I was excited about all of the opportunities that lay ahead. I’ve never designed a curriculum for an elective course before, a course that many states lack standards for (although I did make sure to study each state’s standards that did have them to incorporate as many as possible into the resources.) This provided me a great deal of freedom for the course design, and with that, I found that my creativity flourished. When I thought of the students who typically sign up for A&P, I knew that many would have an interest in the medical field. If this is truly the case, I knew that these students would be taking A&P again in college. Because of this, I decided I wanted to shift the focus for my course. Instead of creating a course where students memorized all of the structures in preparation for college, I wanted to create a course that further stoked their fire of interest for the human body, knowing that if I could keep students interested, then they were more likely to stay the course towards a medical profession. I’d leave all the boring memorization for their college professors – ha! The focus of my course is really on the physiology of the structures, more so than their anatomy. Of course, all good biology teachers know that form dictates function, so the two do go hand in hand, and this idea is a central thread woven within each unit. The curriculum focuses on the body as a whole rath...

Last Updated on Sun, 05 Mar 2023 | Stated most simply and broadly, physiology is the study of how living organisms work. As applied to human beings, its scope is extremely broad. At one end of the spectrum, it includes the study of individual molecules—for example, how a particular protein's shape and electrical properties allow it to function as a channel for sodium ions to move into or out of a cell. At the other end, it is concerned with complex processes that depend on the interplay of many widely separated organs in the body—for example, how the brain, heart, and several glands all work together to cause the excretion of more sodium in the urine when a person has eaten salty food. What makes physiologists unique among biologists is that they are always interested in function and integration—how things work together at various levels of organization and, most importantly, in the entire organism. Thus, even when physiologists study parts of organisms, all the way down to individual molecules, the intention is always ultimately to have whatever information is gained applied to the function of the whole body. As the nineteenth-century physiologist Claude Bernard put it: "After carrying out an analysis of phenomena, we must . . . always reconstruct our physiological synthesis, so as to see the joint action of all the parts we have isolated ... ." In this regard, a very important point must be made about the present status and future of physiology. It is easy for a student ...

Anatomy and Physiology course scope and sequence within the Health Science Career Cluster® summarizes the content to be taught, and one possible order for teaching the units of instruction. A brief description of each unit and the corresponding TEKS are included. This scope and sequence may be adapted or adopted by the local education agency.

\( \newcommand\) • • • • • • • • Human anatomy is the study of the structure of the human body. Key Points • Gross anatomy is subdivided into surface anatomy (the external body), regional anatomy (specific regions of the body), and systemic anatomy (specific organ systems). • Microscopic anatomy is subdivided into cytology (the study of cells) and histology (the study of tissues). • Anatomy is closely related to physiology (study of function), biochemistry (chemical processes of living things), comparative anatomy (similarities and differences between species), and embryology (development of embryos). • Knowledge of anatomy is needed to understand human biology and medicine. Key Terms • anatomy: The study of the body structure of animals. • surface Anatomy: The study of anatomical landmarks that can be identified by observing the surface of the body. Sometimes called superficial anatomy. • microscopic anatomy: The study of minute anatomical structures on a microscopic scale, including cells (cytology) and tissues (histology). • Gross (or macroscopic) anatomy: The study of anatomical features visible to the naked eye, such as internal organs and external features. • embryology: The science of the development of an embryo from the fertilization of the ovum to the fetal stage. • dissection: The process of disassembling an organism to determine its internal structure and understand the functions and relationships of its components. Defining Anatomy Anatomy describes the struct...

\( \newcommand\): Blood Pressure. The image above shows a patient getting their blood pressure read by a health care professional. A proficiency in anatomy and physiology is fundamental to any career in the health professions. (Image credit: Bryan Mason/flickr is licensed under ) Chapter Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you will be able to: • Distinguish between anatomy and physiology, and identify several branches of each • Describe the structure of the body, from simplest to most complex, in terms of the six levels of organization • Identify the functional characteristics of human life • Define homeostasis and explain its importance to normal human functioning • Use appropriate anatomical terminology to identify key body structures, body regions, and directions in the body Though you may approach the subjects of anatomy and physiology strictly as a requirement for your field of study, the knowledge you gain in these subjects will serve you well in many aspects of your life. An understanding of anatomy and physiology is not only fundamental to any career in the health professions, but it can also benefit your own health. Familiarity with the human body can help you make healthful choices and prompt you to take appropriate action when signs of illness arise. Your knowledge in this field will help you understand news about nutrition, medications, medical devices, and procedures and help you understand genetic or infectious diseases. At some point, everyone w...