Week 1
The Five Levels of Structural Organisation
Chemical Level
Cellular Level
Tissue Level
Organ Level
Organ System Level
Organismal Level
The chemical level includes the atoms and molecules, the very building blocks of life.
The cellular level contains the cells, which are the smallest living and self-sufficient unit in the human body. They have many roles and types and can work separately or together. The cells also contain organelles which form a key part of what their function is.
Tissue is a conglomeration of cells. This can either be in the form of sheets of cells or in cells that are present together in many layers. The four types of tissue include epithelial, muscular, connective, and nerve tissue.
The organs are made up of different tissues and therefore different cells. Each organ has its own specialised function such as the stomach breaks down food and the skin protects and provides an interface for the body.
Organ systems are what also have specialised functions. There are 11 different organ or 'body' systems. They are the urinary/renal system, cardiovascular system, immune/lymphatic system, skeletal system, muscular system, digestive system, integumentary system, nervous system, male and female reproductive systems, respiratory system, and endocrine system.
The organismal level takes the whole organism into perspective. It is essentially the 'human-scale'.
Homeostasis
The ability of the body to maintain a stable internal environment within a 'normal range' in the face of constantly changing external conditions.
This internal environment is maintained by regulated variables.
Negative feedback control aims to negate the change occurring by changing the level of the regulated variable in such a way that it is brought back to the set point.
The Stimulus is what produces the homeostatic response.
The Receptor is what detects the change.
The Input is the information sent along the afferent pathway to the control centre.
The Control Centre is the place where the decision of the homeostatic change is made.
The Output is the message that is sent along the efferent pathway to the effector.
The Response is the change brought to the stimulus and this response is what returns the body back to homeostatic levels.
Positive feedback control is the activation of processes that restore normal function by positively increasing specific aspects of a response until the initial stimulus has ceased.
The 8 Necessary Functions of Life
Digestion, reproduction, movement, growth, excretion, responsiveness, maintaining boundaries, and metabolism.
These processes contribute to homeostasis as all of them working together and in a proper manner is the basis for the correct function of the entire human body. All of the body systems contribute to the necessary functions of life.
Digestion is supported by the digestive system, reproduction by the reproductive system, movement by the skeletal and muscular systems, growth by the skeletal and muscular systems, excretion by the digestive and renal/urinary systems, responsiveness through the integumentary, cardiovascular, immune/lymphatic, endocrine, and nervous systems, maintaining boundaries through the integumentary system, and metabolism through the digestive and respiratory system.
Virtue Ethics and Professionalism
Examples of virtues include trustworthiness, courage, honesty, compassion, discernment and good judgment, fairness, generosity, and altruism.
Virtues promote the well-being of individuals and the flourishing of communities.
Virtues include assessing the good of the patient (clinical ethics), the good of the community (public health ethics), and a combination of both (research ethics).
Vices on the other hand are harmful to individuals or groups.
Decoding Scientific and Medical Terminology
Transverse
Sagittal
Frontal
Dorsum (hand)
Palmar
Ventral/Anterior
Proximal
Lateral
Distal
Dorsal/Posterior
Dorsum (foot)
Medial
Plantar
Superior
Inferior