Facts/Triva (part 2)

Cardiovascular System

Inflammation of the pericardium, pericarditis, often results in a decrease in the amount of serous fluid. This causes the pericardial layers to bind and stick to each other, forming painful adhesions thet interfere with heart movements.

Respiratory System

Smoking inhibits ciliary activity and ultimately destroys the cila. Without these cilia, coughing is the only means of preventing mucus from accumulating in the lungs. Smokers with the respiratory congestion should avoid medications that inhibit cough reflex.

Reproductive System

Since many potentially harmful substances can cross through the placenta barrier into the fetal blood, the pregnant woman should be very much aware of what she is taking into her body. Substances that may cause life-threatening birth defects (and even fetal death) include alcohol, nicotine, and many types of drugs (anticoagulants, antihypertensives, sedatives and some antibiotics). Maternal infections, particularly German measles (rubelle), may also cause severe fetal damage. Termination of a pregnancy by loss of a fetus during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy is called abortion.

Abnormal separation of chromosomes during meiosis can lead to congenital defects of thos system. For example, males who have an extra female sex chromosomes have the normal male accessory structures, but ther testes atrophy, causing them to be sterile. Other abnormalities occur when a child has only one sex chromosome. An XO female appears normal but lacks ovaries; YO males die during development. Other much less serious conditions affect males primarily; these include phimosis, which essentially is narrowing of the foreskin of the penis and misplaced urethral openings.

During an extremely prolonged or difficult stage 2, a condition called dystocia may occur. In dystocia, oxygen delivery to the infant is inadequate, leading to fetal brain damage ( resulting in cerebral palsy or epilepsy) and decreased viability of the infant. To prevent this outcomes, a cesarean section, also called C-section may be performed. A C-section is delivery of the infant through surgical incision made through abdominal and uterine walls.

Source: Essentials of Human Anatomy & Physiology Eight Edition

Reproductive System

The reproductive system produces male and female gametes, enhances fertilization of an oocyte by a sperm, nurtures the new individual until birth in female and produces sex hormones. The reproductive system is divided into two: the female reproductive system and the male reproductive system.

In male reproductive system, it consists of the testes, a series of ducts, accessory glands and supporting structures. The testes is the male gonads where sperm cells develops. It also produces testosterone. Epididymis is the storage area of the sperm, the sperm produced in the tests moves into the epididymis to mature before it passes through the other male reproductive organs. Other parts of the male reproductive system is the vas deferens, scrotum, seminal vesicle and others. There is also a process called Spertmatogenesis which is the formation of sperm cells which is important for the males. They also secrete Semen which is a mixture of sperm cells and secretions from the male reproductive glands. The male’s hormone which is the testosterone is responsible for spermatogenesis and development of secondary sex characteristics.

In the female reproductive system, it consists of ovaries, uterine tube, the uterus, vagina, the external genitalia and mammary glands. The two ovaries are small organs suspended in the pelvic cavity by ligaments produces estrogen and progesterone which are the female hormones. An oocyte is the female sex cells. They are formed in the process of Oogenesis. The females also has menstrual cycle which refers to the series of changes that occur in sexually mature, non-pregnant females and culminate in menses. This happens when females undergo puberty. Menopause happens when the female reaches to the age of 40-50 years old. Menopause is the cessation of menstrual cycle.

 The reproductive system is also responsible for child birth. Fertilization is the union of a sperm cell and an oocyte, with their genetic material, to produce a new individual. There are so many stages that an zygote undergo for it become a grown fetus. It takes 9 months for the baby to be able to get out of their mother’s womb. A newborn baby is called a neonate. After that, he or she will undergo many changes in different life stages.

Urinary System

The Urinary System is also known as the renal system which produces, stores and eliminates urine. The kidneys are the key players in the urinary system. There are two major functions that this process of elimination goes through, one is that the kidneys filters the waste from our blood and two, produce urine to get rid of it. If this didn’t happen, toxins will quickly build in your body and make your immune system weaker. It also keeps levels of electrolytes, such as potassium and phosphate, stable. Another important thing is these thin tubes of muscles which act as a pathway to the bladder known as the ureters. The bladder, located in the pelvis between the pelvic bones, is a hollow, muscular, balloon-shaped organ that expands as it fills with urine. Although a person does not control kidney function, a person does control when the bladder empties. There are also effects of the amount of urine a person produces depends on many factors, such as the amounts of liquid and food a person consumes and the amount of fluid lost through sweat and breathing. Certain medications, medical conditions, and types of food can also affect the amount of urine produced. Children produce less urine than adults; the amount produced depends on their age.

Digestive System

Our body needs a lot of nutrients and the digestive system is the one who delivers the nutrients throughout the body. It is the one responsible for the breaking down of food to convert it into energy and distribute or provides nutrients in all the parts of the body. Other functions of the digestive system is to absorb the digested molecules and eliminate wastes inside our body. The parts of the digestive system is the oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small & large intestine, liver and pancreas. Each of these organs has an enzyme that breaks down the small particles of the food into a very small molecules which are absorbed into the circulation and transported all over the body. Some of these enzymes are the salivary amylase which breaks down starch in the mouth, Pepsin which breaks down covalent bonds from proteins to form a smaller peptide chains, Peptidases which breaks down peptide bonds in proteins to form amino acids, and others.

Nutrition is the process by which food is taken into and used by the body. Our body needs nutrients which provides energy and building blocks for new molecules in the body. There are essential nutrients which are nutrients that must be ingested by the body because our body cannot manufacture them. Our body needs carbohydrates, some lipids, proteins, vitamins and minerals.

Respiratory System

                The Respiratory System consists of organs that help our body to breathe. It exchanges oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air and blood, regulates blood pH, helps produce sounds, moves air over the sensory receptors that detect smell, and protects against some microorganisms. Air passes through many organs before the process of gas exchange like the nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx, trachea, lungs and many more. Gas exchange usually occurs in the alveoli. Every living thing on earth needs air to be able to breathe, this process is called ventilation or breathing which air moves in and out of the lungs. Inspiration or inhalation happens when air moves in the lungs and Expiration or exhalation happens when air moves out of the lungs. There is also a process called Cellular Respiration where breathing provides the oxygen needed to make ATP from glucose.  Breathing gets rid of the potentially toxic carbon dioxide, the waste products during cellular respiration. All of these means that the Respiratory System is very important in our body. We need to breathe for us to be able to live.

Lymphatic System

Every day we struggle from big stuff, small stuff, and micro stuff. We might not even know that we are fighting for our lives when we deal with the micros. Fortunately, we survive, out-win, and resist this "micros"

There are plenty of microorganisms that can potentially harm our body, but thanks to our lymphatic system, we are able to defend ourselves. The lymphatic system has lymph and lymph nodes which filters microorganism that enter the body. From there the body projects symptoms. The red bone marrow then produce more T and B cells to immunize the body. If there is an infection T and B cells increase in number for the body to resist infection. Immunity has two types: innate and adaptive. In innate immunity the body recognizes and destroys foreign substances, but the response is the same every time the body is exposed to the same substance. On the other hand, adaptive immunity has specificity and memory that the body remembers the particular substance and destroy it.  The substance is acquired again, the body responds much faster and stronger. Adaptive immunity is acquired, it may be: one is exposed to the infection, through experience, artificially like those of vaccines or from the mother when a baby is still in the womb. Concluding, the lymphatic system is literally "what-doesn’t-kill-you-makes-you-stronger"

GRADES AREN'T EVERYTHING, LEARNING IS (PART 2)

                On the 10^th chapter we have discussed about the endocrine system where we have learned about the different hormones produced by our body to maintain homeostasis. We also have learned the different diseases that may result due to the overproduction or less production of each hormone. Such example of this is the production of thyroid hormone, if less of it is synthesized and secreted, TSH-releasing hormone and TSH secretion increases above normal level and thus causes an enlargement of the thyroid gland.

From chapter 11 to 13 the discussion covered everything about the circulatory system. Our professor tackled about the Blood which he explained the history of red blood cells and how it is produced in response to decreased oxygen in our body. He discussed on the composition of blood and how some of the components of it prevent blood loss. He also focused on the blood grouping specifically the ABO Group and RH Group and the possibilities that may occur if possessing such blood type. We also did an experiment on our lab to determine our blood types. The discussion on the heart didn’t take that much long because he just taught us about the flow of the blood in the heart  to the pulmonary then back to the heart then the circulation of blood into our tissues. The discussion on the blood vessels was more on the location and the function of each whether to drain or supply blood to a specific organ.

Chapter 14 was all about the lymphatic system and immunity. Our discussion focused on the production of antibodies against microorganisms that invade our bodies. We have learned about the innate and adaptive immunity and different classifications of white blood cells.

The focus on respiratory system was basically on the flow of air in our bodies being affected by the pressure inside and how then it is being secreted.

On digestive system we have discussed about the breakdown of food from the moment we ingest it and learned different new terms such as mastication and deglutition.

On Chapter 17 the topic was all about nutrition and metabolism. It was more on the different essential nutrients that we must take in and must maintain in order to proceed in our daily living activities.

 On Chapter 18, our professor tackled about the formation and filtration of urine in our kidneys. He also focused on the structure of the functional unit of the kidney – NEPHRON and the regulation of extracellular fluid composition such as the Thirst Regulation and Ion Concentration Regulation.

The last part of our lecture covered the reproductive system and discussed on the formation of different gametes and structures of both male and female reproductive organs. Half of the reproductive also focused on the Development of an organism from a zygote to fetus and characteristics formed during different stages of development.

Integumentary System

        The integumentary system consists of the skin, or integument, and its acessory structures which are the hair, nails, exocrine glands and smooth muscles. It functions to protect our body from external harm, vitamin D synthesis, sensation and temperature regulation.

The Skin is the organ that covers the external surface of the body. It consists of two layers, the epidermis which is the superficial layer and the dermis which is the underlying layer. Under the dermis is the subcutaneous tissue or hypodermis which consists of adipose tissues.

In our activity, we magnify the tissues of the thick and thin skin. We also determine the differences between the two of it. Their differences in location, epidermal layers, hair, sweat glands and oil glands.

In our second activity we determine the density of sweat glands, the two-point discrimination where we distinguish the most and least sensitive part of the body, the adaptation of tactile receptors and termoreception.

Senses: Vision (Cow's Eye)

                The visual system consists of the eyes, accessory structures and sensory neurons. We obtain much of our information about many things through the visual system. Each parts of the eye has its functions.

                There are also functions of the eye like the light refraction and focusing Images on the retina. The important characteristic of light is that it can be bended or refracted. Light that passes through a concave surface diverges while light passing through a convex surface surges. The converging light rays cross at the focal point and are said to be focused.

                The activity that we did in vision is the dissection of the cow’s eye. The cow’s eye is somehow similar to the human eye. In dissecting the eye, we saw the different parts of it like the optic nerve, pupil, lens, cornea and many more. We also used the lens of the cow’s eye and placed it on a paper with letters. When we placed it, the letters or the text became big and the lens of the cow looks like a magnifying lens.

Here are some pictures from the activity:

Senses

                Sensation is the conscious awareness of stimuli received by sensory receptors. Sense is the ability to perceive stimuli. Senses is divided into two groups, the general and special senses.

General senses have receptors distributed over a large part of the body. They are also divided into two groups, somatic and visceral senses. The somatic senses provide information about the body and environment while the visceral senses provide information about the internal organs, pain and pressure.

Special Senses are localized to specific parts of the body. The special senses are smell, sight, hearing, and balance.

We also did an activity to test for the different special senses. First is the color blindness test, color blindness is the absence of perception of one or more colors. Color perception may be decreased or completely lost. We used the Ishihara test which consists of mosaic figures where numbers or objects are hidden. Fortunately, all of us passed this test.

Next is the Visual Acuity Test, it is a test used to determine if you could read the big and small letters from a specific distance. It could determine if you have a normal vision.  We used the Snellen chart in this test. Some of our group mates find it hard to read some small letters in the Snellen chart.

Next is the Test for hearing. We did the Weber Test and Rinne Test using the tuning fork. Weber test is a test using a vibrating tuning fork which is held various points along the midline of the skull and face while Rinne Test is a test for evaluating loss of hearing in one ear.

The last test is the knee-jerk reflex test. It is for determining the reflex of the person. We used a hammer and tap it on the patellar tendon.

Muscular System

                The Muscular system is the one that is responsible for the movement of our body. The functions of the muscular system are:

• ·         Movement of the body
• ·         Maintenance of Posture
• ·         Respiration
• ·         Production of body heat
• ·         Communication
• ·         Constriction of organs and vessels
• ·         Contraction of the heart

There are three types of muscles, these are the skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscles. Skeletal muscles are the muscles that are attached to the skeletal system. Cardiac muscles are located in our heart. Smooth muscles are located in walls or hollow organs, blood vessels and glands.

The activity that we have done is determining the time of the muscle fatigue in Isometric Contractions and Isotonic Contractions. In the Isometric Contractions we first put the book in one arm and recorded the time of the muscle fatigue. We also repeat it in the other arm and both arms. We also done it using 2 books for the left arm, right arm and both arms. The result is that the time of the onset of fatigue is longer when we put 1 or 2 books in our both arms.

In the Isotonic Contractions, we stroll, brick walking and running for five minutes and rate the sensation of muscle fatigue in each activity. We repeat it again, this time doing the exercise up and down a staircase. The most painful is running in the staircase up and down for five minutes. 

GRADES AREN'T EVERYTHING. LEARNING IS

     Most courses related to the field of medicine experience the wonderful world of Anatomy. A subject that some would define it as their worst nightmare, but to us ,as nursing students it is a privileged. An honour to gain most of the information we need relevant to our course. From the beginning as we entered the semester a challenging subject has faced us where on the first two meetings of the class we were obliged to read 3 chapters: The Human Organism, The Chemical Basis of Life and The Cell Structure and its Functions.

     On the first chapter, we have learned what Anatomy and Physiology is. “Human Anatomy and Physiology is the study of the structure and function of the human body”. We have learned the structural and functional organization of the human body from chemical forms a cell and from a cell forms a tissue, an organ, organ system until it becomes an organism. Our very smart professor also explained to us the importance of homeostasis and the mechanisms that happen inside our body to maintain it. He also thought us about the different cavities inside our body. It was also that time when we were discussing on the first chapter that we got familiar with the terms used in this subject such as the anterior, posterior, proximal and distal terms which were very new to us at that point.

     On the second and third chapter, we have learned about Chemicals and Cells. He discussed about the four macromolecules: carbohydrates, proteins , lipids and the nucleic acid. On the third chapter, he thought us the different structures and functions of the cell and the different types and movements across the cell membrane such as Diffusion, Osmosis, Active Transport, Exocytosis and Endocytosis. It was on that chapter he discussed to us about the cell division and it has gotten a lot interesting when we were able to see the different phases of cell division under the microscope “ Prophase, Metaphase , Anaphase and Telophase” during our laboratory time.

     On the fourth chapter, we discussed about Tissues. He thought us about the four basic types of tissues: Epithelial, Connective , Nerves and Muscle Tissues and its classifications. He pointed to us where each type and classification can be found. On that chapter, during our laboratory time we were able to see what each tissue looks like under the microscope. It was really fascinating, there were different colors of it, different location of the nucleus and shapes of each.

     On the fifth Chapter, we have learned about Integumentary chapter. He discussed about the different layers of skin, Diseases of skin and sensory receptors. We also had an activity about the two-point discrimination, adaptation of tactile receptors and thermorception.

     On the sixth Chapter, we have learned about the skeletal system. We were able to learn the different parts of the skeletal system and its locations. It was on this chapter that we had our very first long quiz at the same time moving exam where we were given 30 seconds to identify the part of a bone then move on when the buzzer buzzes. On the muscular system, he had discussed us the structure of the muscle. It was more on about the tendon attached to the skeletal muscle, a muscle fasiculi surrounded by an epimysium and muscle fibers surrounded by perimysium. He thought us about the ion channels and action potentials then after it the nomenclature of muscles and location.

     On the eighth Chapter, he thought us about the Nervous System, we have learned the different types of Neurons, Division of the Nervous System, The Peripheral Nervous System, Autonomic Nervous System and the component of each system. On Senses, we have learned about the different sensory receptors: Mechanoreceptors , Chemoreceptors , Photoreceptors, and Thermoreceptors. The Special Senses and its functions. In this chapter, we had an activity where we were to test our eyes with the use of ishihara chart and snellen chart. We also dissected a cow’s eye and locate each part of it. Anatomy was really an amazing subject where you could learn a lot of surprising and more detailed things than what we have learned in highschool and elementary.