ACUPUNCTURE BODY & MIND CARE CLINIC (Deer Lake) ACUPUNCTURE BODY & MIND CARE CLINIC (Deer Lake)

ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY

Anatomy: is often defined as the study of the structure of an Organism and the Relationships of its parts. The word Anatomy is derived from two Greek words: ana, meaning apart, and temos or tomos, meaning cutting.

Physiology: is the science of the functions of the living organism and its parts. The term is a combination of two Greek words: physis, meaning nature , and logos, meaning science or study. Therefore, it is the study of physiology that helps us to understand how the body works.

AP:01 SKIN

The skin forms a self-repairing and protective boundary between the internal environment of the body and often hostile external world. Integument is another name for the skin; integumentary system is a term used to denote the skin and its appendages: hair, nails, and skin glands.

FUNCTIONS OF THE SKIN

 

AP:02 Body Chemistry

Anatomy and physiology are subdivisions of biology: the study of the life. To best understand the characteristics of life, what living matter is, how it is organized, and what it can do, we must appreciate and understand certain basic principles of chemistry that apply to the life process.                                                                            Life itself depends on proper levels and proportions of chemical substances in the cytoplasm of cells. Chemistry, like Biology, is a very broad scientific discipline. It deals with the structure, arrangement, and composition of substances and the reactions they undergo.                                                                                                    Biochemistry is the field of chemistry that deals with living organisms and the life processes we collectively called metabolism. It deals directly with the chemical composition of living matter and the metabolic processes that underlie life activities such as growth, muscle contraction, and transmission of nervous impulses.

 

AP: 03 Cells

The cell theory states simply that the cell is the fundamental organizationl unit of life; all living things are composed of cells.                                                                            Almost all human cells are microscopic in size. Like other anatomical structures, cells exhibit a particular size or form because they perform a certain activity. A nerve cell, for example, may have threadlike extensions over a meter in length to transmit nervous impulses from one area of the body to another. Muscle cells are adapted to contract, that is, to shorten or lengthen with pulling strength. Other types of cells may serve protective or secretory function.

 

AP: 04 Tissues

A tissue is a group of similar cells that perform a common function. Tissues can be thought of as the fabric of the body, which is sewn together to form the organs of the body and to hold all the organs together as a whole.                                                        Each tissue specialized in performing at least one unique function that helps maintain homeostasis, assuring the survival of the whole body. The branch of Anatomy that studies tissues is called histology.                                                                                    Regardless of the size, shape, or arrangement of cells in a tissue, they are all surrounded by or embedded in a nonliving intercellular material that is often simply called matrix. The matrix is a dynamic system of molecules and fibers that carry out some of the body's most important homeostatic functions.                                              All tissues in the human body can be classified by their structure and function into four principle types:                                                                                                            a. Epithelial tissue                                                                                                            b. Connective tissue                                                                                                          c. Muscle tissue                                                                                                               d. Nervous tissue                                                                                                            These tissue types originate from the three primary germ layers.

 

AP:05 Skeletal System

Structurally, there are four types of bones in the human skeleton: long bones, short bones, flat bones, and irregular bones. Bones differ in size and shape and also in the amount and proportion of two different types of bone tissue that comprise them: compact bone, solid in appearance, and trabecular (also cancellous or spongy) bone. Ligaments are fibrous bands that help hold the various bones together into an organized skeleton.                                                                                                            The main functions of the bones and ligaments of the skeletal system include:              1. Support. Bones serve as the supporting framework of the body, much as steel girders are the supporting framework of our modern buildings.                                      2. Protection. Hard, bony boxes serve to protect the delicate structures they enclose. One can also use the arm or leg bones to help defend against injuries.                            3. Movement. Bones and their joints form lever systems operated by skeletal muscles.                                                                                                                            4. Mineral storage. Bone tissue is a reservoir for calcium, phosphorus, and certain other minerals.                                                                                                                  5. Hematopoiesis. Hematopoiesis, or blood cell formation, is a vital process carried on by red bone marrow, or myeloid tissue.

 

AP: 06  Muscular System

When we walk, talk, run, breathe, or engage in a multitude of other physical activities that are under the willed control of the individual, we do so by contraction of skeletal muscle.                                                                                                                              There are over 600 skeletal muscles in the human body. Collectively, they constitute 40% of a person's body weight. And, together with the scaffolding provided by the skeleton, muscles also determine the form and contours of the body. Together with other body systems, the skeletal muscle system performs these essential functions:      a. Movement. Using the skeleton ( with its moveable joints) as a scaffold, skeletal muscle contractions produce purposeful movement of the body as a whole (locomotion) or movement of its parts.                                                                            b.Heat production. Muscle cells, like all  cells, produce heat by the metabolic process known as catabolism. The heat produced by just one cell is inconsequential, but because skeletal muscle cells are both highly active and numerous, together they produce a major share of total body heat. Skeletal muscle contractions therefore constitute one of the most important parts of the mechanism for maintaining homeostasis of temperature.                                                                                              c. Posture. The continued partial contraction of many skeletal muscles makes possible standing, sitting, and maintaing a relatively stable position of the body while walking, running, or performing other movements.

 

AP: 07 Nervous System

The nervous system is organized to detect changes (stimuli) in the internal and external environments, evaluate that information, and possibly respond by initiating changes in muscles or glands. To make this complex network of information lines and processing circuits easier to understand, biologists have subdivided the nervous system into smaller systems and divisions. The nervous system can be divided in various ways:                                                                                                                    1. According to structure (Central Nervous System and Peripheral Nervous System)  2. Direction of information flow (Afferent/ Sensory) Division and Efferent / Motor) Division                                                                                                                            3. Control of effectors (Somatic Nervous System and Autonomic Nervous System)    Two main types of cells compose the nervous system, namely, Neurons and glia. Neurons are excitable cells that conduct the impulses that make possible all nervous system functions. In other words, they form the wiring of the nervous system's information circuits. Glia, or glial cells, on the other hand, do not usually conduct information themselves but support the function of neurons in various ways. 

 

AP: 08 Endocrine System

The endocrine system and nervous system may work alone or in concert with others as a single neuroendocrine system, performing the same general functions within the body: Communication, Integration, and Control.                                                            Both the endocrine system and the nervous system perform their regulatory functions by means of chemical messengers sent to specific cells.                              In the nervous system, neurons secrete neurotransmitter molecules to signal nearby cells that have the appropriate receptor molecules.                                                          In the endocrine system, however, secreting cells send hormone (from the Greek hormaein, to ''excite'' ) molecules by way of the bloodstream to signal specific target cells throughout the body. Tissues and organs that contain endocrine target cells are called target tissues and target organs, respectively. As with postsynaptic cells, endocrine target cells must have the appropriate receptor to be influenced by the signaling chemical: a process called signal transduction. Many cells have receptors for neurotransmitters and hormones, so they can be influenced by both types of chemicals.

 

AP: 09 Cardiovascular System

The cardiovascular system is sometimes called simply the circulatory system. It consists of the heart, which is a muscular pumping device, and a closed system of vessels that include:                                                                                                          Arteries and arterioles: vessels that carry blood away from the heart.                            Veins and venules: vessels that carry blood toward the heart.                                        Capillaries: thin, microscopic vessels that carry blood through the tissues to connect.                                                                                                                    Blood : is complex connective tissue that serves multiples purposes, such as carrying oxigen and carbon dioxide ( blood gases), nutrients, water, metabolic wastes, hormones, agents of immunity, heat, and more.                                                              As the name implies, blood contained in the circulatory system is pumped by the heart around a closed circle or circuit of vessels as it passes again and again through the various organs of the body. 

 

AP: 10 Lymphatic and Immune systems

The Lymphatic system serves various functions in the body. The two most important functions of this system are maintenance of fluid balance in the internal environment and Immunity. A third, somewhat less important, function od the lymphatic system is the absorption of lipids from digested food in the small intestine and its transport to the large system veins.                                                                      The lymphatic system maintains the body's fluid balance by collecting tissue fluid that fails to return to the blood and would otherwise cause tissue swelling. The lymphatic system is often considered to be a component of the circulatory system because it consists of a moving fluid (Lymph) derived from the blood and tissue fluid and a group of vessels (lymphatics) that return the lymph to the blood. In general, the lymphatic vessels that drain the peripheral areas of the body parallel the venous return.                                                                                                                                The immune system functions as an internal security force using components of blood, lymphoid tissue of the lymphatic organs, and other agents to protect the body. Immunity can help the body counteract harmful effects of microbes ( such as bacteria), cancer cells, burns, chemical toxins, and other damaging insults to the body.

 

AP:11 Respiratory System

The respistory system functions as an air distributor and a gas exchanger so that oxygen can be supplied to and carbon dioxide removed from the body's cells. Because most of our trillions of cells lie too far from air to exchange gases directly with it, air must first exchange gases with blood, blood must circulate, and finally, blood and cells must exchange gases. These events require the functioning of two systems, namely, the respiratory system and circulatory system. All parts of the respiratory system, except its microscopic sized sacs called alveoli, function as air distributors. Only the alveoli and the tiny alveolar ducts that open into them serve as gas exchangers.                                                                                                                        In addition to air distribution and gas exhange, the respiratory system effectively filters, warms, and humidifies the air we breathe. Respiratory organs also help produce sounds, including speech used in communicating oral language. Special sensory epithelium in the respiratory tract makes the sense of smell (olfaction) possible. The respiratory system also plays an important role in the regulation, or homeostasis, of pH in the body.

 

AP: 12 Digestive System

The organs of the digestive system together perform a vital function that of preparing nutrients for absorption and for use by the millions of body cells. Most of food when eaten is in form that cannot reach the cells ( because it cannot pass through the intestinal mucosa into the bloodstream), nor could it be used by the cells even if it could reach them. It must therefore be modified in both chemical composition and physical state so that nutrients can be absorbed and used by the body cells. The complete process of altering the physical and chemical composition of ingested food material so that it can be absorbed and used by the body cells is called Digestion.        The complex process of digestion is the function of both the digestive tract and accessory organs that make up the digestive system. The process of digestion depends on both Endocrine and Exocrine Secretions and the controlled movement of ingested food materials through the tract so that absorption can occur.

 

AP: 13 Nutrition and Metabolism

Nutrition refers to the food people eat and the nutrients it contains.                                Metabolism refers to the complex, interactive set of chemical processes that make life possible. Metabolism is the use the body makes of foods after they have been digested, absorbed, and circulated to the body's cells. The nutrients from food are used by the body as an energy source and as building blocks for making complex chemical compounds.                                                                                                        Every cell in the body must maintain the operation of its metabolic pathways to ensure its survival.                                                                                                            Anabolic pathways(Anabolism) are required to build the various structural and functional components of the cells.                                                                                  Catabolic pathways (Catabolism) are required to convert energy to usable form. Catabolic pathways are also needed to degrade large molecules into small subunits that can be used in anabolic pathways.                                                                                  Of course, the basic nutrient molecules, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins of the correct type, must be available to each cell to carry out these metabolic processes. Besides the basic nutrient molecules, cells also require small amounts of specific vitamins and minerals needed to produce the structural and functional components necessary for cellular metabolism.

 

AP: 14 Urinary System

The principal organs of the urinary system are the Kidneys, which process blood and form urine as a waste to be excreted ( removed from the body). The excreted urine travels from the kidneys to the outside of the body via accessory organs: ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra.                                                                                                Homeostasis of water and electrolytes, including pH, in body fluids depends largely on proper functioning of the kidneys. Each nephron within the kidney processes blood plasma in a way that adjusts its content to maintain a dynamic constancy of the internal environment of the body. Without renal processing, blood plasma characteristics would soon move out of their setpoint range.

 

AP: 15 Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base Balance

The volume of fluid and the electrolyte levels inside the cells, in the interstitial spaces, and in the blood vessels all remain relatively constant when a condition of homeostasis exists. Fluid and electrolyte imbalance, then, means that both the total volume of water or level of electrolytes in the body or the amounts in one or more of its fluid compartments have increased or decreased beyond normal limits.                    Acid-base balance refers to regulation of hydrogen ion concentration (pH) in the body fluids. Precise regulation of pH at the cellular level is necessary for survival. Even slight deviations from normal pH will result in pronounced, potentially fatal changes in metabolic activity.