Anatomy and Physiology Enrichment

Enrichment Questions

Instructions: This is an honors level course. Answer all questions fully using complete sentences. If you want full credit, please provide plenty of details.

1. How is the concept of homeostasis related to aging and disease? Provide examples to support your thinking.

Homeostasis is maintaining a stable internal environment, and when you age, your internal organs slowly deteriorate and eventually become unusable, and disease is when a virus or bacteria invades, making changes in your cells, causing a response in your body to try to get rid of those invaders. This relates to homeostasis because both aging and disease deal with internal changes, and homeostasis tries to maintain that stable internal environment, helping get rid of diseases and fight aging.

2. When we are dehydrated, we are thirsty and drink water. Is this part of negative or positive feedback control systems? Explain your reasoning.

Drinking water is a negative feedback system. When thirst increases, it stimulates you to drink so then thirst decreases.

3. Why would you have a hard time understanding physiology if you did not also understand anatomy?

You can not understand physiology if you do not understand anatomy because they are both connected. Anatomy deals with the structures of a body part, such as a hand, and physiology deals with how they work together, such as how the tendons and muscles and skeletal structures work together to operate it, so without an understanding of those structures, one cannot understand physiology.

4. Describe the different body cavities.

The thoracic cavity holds the heart and lungs.

The pelvic cavity hold the lower intestines, reproductive organs.

The abdominal cavity holds the stomach and intestines.

The cranial cavity holds the brain.

The vertebral cavity holds the spinal chord.

5. Career Focus: What does a dental hygienist do and why would he/she need to know anatomy and physiology?

A dental...