Library: Biology by Credo Reference: Anatomy & Physiology

Anatomy

Anatomy: Topic Page
Branch of biology concerned with the study of body structure of various organisms, including humans.
Abdomen: Topic Page
The abdomen is tightly packed with a number of organs that are involved in the nutrition of the body. These are kept in their relative positions by the muscles of the abdominal wall and the bands of the visceral peritoneum.
Adrenal Gland: Topic Page
Either of a pair of flattened endocrine glands, situated one above each kidney, that secrete adrenaline and various steroid hormones, including sex hormones.
Artery: Topic Page
Blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to any part of the body.
Cerebrum: Topic Page
The largest part of the brain, occupying most of the cranial cavity within the skull. It is separated into right and left halves (the right and left cerebral hemispheres), connected by a body of nerve fibres known as the corpus callosum.
Brain: Topic Page
The supervisory center of the nervous system in all vertebrates. It also serves as the site of emotions, memory, self-awareness, and thought.
Circulatory System: Topic Page
System of vessels in an animal's body that transports essential substances (blood or other circulatory fluid) to and from the different parts of the body.
Connective Tissue: Topic Page
Supportive tissue widely distributed in the body, characterized by large amounts of intercellular substance and relatively few cells. The intercellular material, or matrix, is produced by the cells and gives the tissue its particular character.
Ear: Topic Page
Organ of hearing and equilibrium. The human ear consists of outer, middle, and inner parts.
Eye: Topic Page
Organ of vision and light perception. In humans the eye is of the camera type, with an iris diaphragm and variable focusing, or accommodation.
Intestine: Topic Page

Muscular hoselike portion of the gastrointestinal tract extending from the lower end of the stomach (pylorus) to the anal opening.
Larynx: Topic Page
Organ of voice in mammals. Commonly known as the voice box, the larynx is a tubular chamber about 2 in. (5 cm) high, consisting of walls of cartilage bound by ligaments and membranes, and moved by muscles.
Pituitary Gland: Topic Page
Small oval endocrine gland that lies at the base of the brain. It is sometimes called the master gland of the body because all the other endocrine glands depend on its secretions for stimulation.
Uterus: Topic Page
In most female mammals, hollow muscular organ in which the fetus develops and from which it is delivered at the end of pregnancy.

Physiology

Physiology
From the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:
Study of the functioning of living organisms or their constituent tissues or cells.
Birth: Topic Page

Or labor, delivery of the fetus by the viviparous mammal. Birth is also known as parturition.
Death: Topic Page
Cessation of all life (metabolic) processes. Death may involve the organism as a whole (somatic death) or may be confined to cells and tissues within the organism.
Digestion: Topic Page
Process by which food eaten by an animal is broken down mechanically, and chemically by enzymes, mostly in the stomach and intestines, to make the nutrients available for absorption and cell metabolism.
Digestive System: Topic Page
In the body, all the organs and tissues involved in the digestion of food. In animals, these consist of the mouth, stomach, intestines, and their associated glands.
Endocrine System: Topic Page

Body control system composed of a group of glands that maintain a stable internal environment by producing chemical regulatory substances called hormones.
Menstruation: Topic Page
Periodic flow of blood and cells from the lining of the uterus in humans and most other primates, occurring about every 28 days in women.
Nervous System: Topic Page
Network of specialized tissue that controls actions and reactions of the body and its adjustment to the environment.
Neurons: Topic Page
Elongated cell that transmits information rapidly between different parts of the body, the basic functional unit of the nervous system.
Respiration: Topic Page
Process that occurs inside cells in which carbohydrate, particularly glucose, is broken down to release energy that the cell can use.
Urinary System: Topic Page
Group of organs of the body concerned with excretion of urine, that is, water and the waste products of metabolism.

Physiologists

Claude Bernard (1813-1878): Topic Page
French physiologist noted for his pioneering work in experimental physiology and pharmacology.
Luigi Galvani (1737-1798): Topic Page
Italian physiologist: observed that muscles contracted on contact with dissimilar metals. This led to the galvanic cell and the electrical theory of muscle control by nerves.
Walter Hess (1881-1973): Topic Page
Swiss physiologist who shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1949 with Portuguese neurologist Antonio Caetano de Abreu Freire Egas Moniz for discovering what function certain parts of the brain had in determining and coordinating the activities of internal organs.
Jacques Loeb (1859-1924): Topic Page
U.S. physiologist, born in Germany, noted especially for his pioneering work on artificial parthenogenesis.
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936): Topic Page
Russian physiologist and physician, best known for his discovery of the conditioned reflex; Nobel prize for medicine 1904.
Jan Purkinje (1787-1869): Topic Page
Czech physiologist who made pioneering studies of vision, the functioning of the brain and heart, pharmacology, embryology, and cells and tissue.
Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729-1799): Topic Page
Italian physiologist, noted especially for his experimental studies of microorganisms and his work on animal reproduction and digestion.

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