Body Cavities The internal body is divided into a number of spaces or cavities.

This is a breakdown of those spaces: their location and contents.

The organs of the body lie mostly within two major cavities: the Ventral cavity and Dorsal cavity. The Dorsal cavity lies within the skull and vertebral column and has two subdivisions: the Cranial cavity and the Spinal cavity. As the names suggest, the cranial cavity hosts the brain and the spinal cord is found within the spinal cavity. These two cavities are lined by a special, continuous, membrane called the Meninges. The ventral cavity also has two main subdivisions, the Thoracic cavity and the Abdominaopelvic cavity. These two cavities have an obvious division seperating them; The large, dome shaped Diaphragm muscle that sits below the lungs and above the stomach.

The Thoracic cavity is divided into right and left, lung containing sides by a medial partition called the Mediastinum, which contains the heart, trachea and esophogus. The lungs are seperated from each other and the heart into right and left Pleural cavities. Each cavity is lined by a membrane, the Parietal pleura, which is continuous and covers the lungs proper, forming the Visceral pleura. A similar situation exists with the heart, which resides within the Pericardial cavity, which is lined by the Parietal Pericardium, a membrane which is continuous with the Visceral Pericardium, covering the heart.

The abdominopelvic cavity is subdivided in it's own right, although this division is not obvious as it's division with the thoracic cavity. The upper Abdominal cavity is divided from the lower Pelvic cavity by an imaginary line from the pubis up and back to the top of the sacrum. The abdominal cavity contains the stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys, spleen and pancreas. The pelvic cavity is a small space encased by the pelvic bones and contains the urinary bladder, the lower end of the colon, and the internal reproductive organs (primarily female). The abdominal cavity is lined by a membrane, the Parietal Perotineum, which is continuous with the organs of the abdominal cavity. This membrane is called the Visceral Perotineum. The space between these two is the Peritoneal cavity.

Anatomy & Physiology

Anatomical positionanddirectional terms

The healthcare industry has its own terminology, especially anatomy and physiology. In order to provide exquisite care and understand the inner workings of the human body, anatomical terminology is a necessity. Well begin by going over anatomical position and directional terms.

In order to describe body parts and positions correctly, the medical community has developed a set of anatomical positions and directional terms widely used in the healthcare industry. The anatomical reference point is a standard body position called the anatomical position. In the anatomical position, the body is erect, the palms of the hand face forward, the thumbs point away from the body, and the feet are slightly apart. Its important to understand the anatomical position because most directional terms are based off it. Orientationanddirectional terms

Superior (cranial)- toward the head or upper part of the body; above Inferior (caudal)- away from the head or toward the lower part of the body; below Ventral (anterior)- toward or at the front of the body; in front of Dorsal (posterior)- toward or at the back of the body; behind Medial- toward or at the midline of the body Lateral- away from the midline of the body Intermediate- between a medial and lateral position Proximal- closer to the origin of the body part or point of attachment of a limb to the body trunk

Distal- away from the origin of a body part or point of attachment of a limb to the body trunk

Superficial (external)- toward or at the body surface Deep (internal)- Away from the body surface

Directional terms allow us to explain where one body part is when compared to another.

Regional Terms The two main divisions of the body are its axial and appendicular parts. The axial partmakes up the main axis of the body and includes the head, neck, and trunk. Theappendicular part consists of the limbs (appendages) attached to the bodys axis.View the image above for an in depth look into all the regional terms used to designate specific areas within the human body. You will have to know them!

Body planes and sections

For anatomical purposes, the body is often sectioned into flat surfaces called planes. Thost frequently used body planes are the sagittal, transverse, and frontal planes. The image above shows how the body is cut into corresponding planes.

Saggital plane- is a vertical plane that divides the body into right and left parts midsaggital plane- is the saggital plane that lies directly in the midline parasaggital planes- are saggital planes offset from the midline Frontal plane (coronal plane)- also lies vertically; divides the body into posterior and anterior sections

Transverse plane (horizontal plane)- runs horizontally; divides the body into inferior and superior sections

Oblique sections- are diagonal cuts made between the vertical and horizontal planes; seldom used

A). Integumentary System (skin)

epidermal & dermal regions cutaneous sense organs cutaneous glan

B). Skeletal System

bones cartilage ligaments joints

C). Muscular System

skeletal muscle

tendons

D). Nervous System

brain spinal cord nerves sensory receptors

E). Endocrine System

pituitary thyroid parathyroid adrenal pineal glands ovaries testes pancreas

F). Cardiovascular System

heart blood vessels blood

G). Lymphatic System

lymphatic vessels lymph nodes

spleen thymus tonsils lymphoid tissues

H). Respiratory System

lungs nasal passages pharynx larynx trachea bronchi

I). Digestive System

oral cavity esophagus stomach small intestine large intestine teeth salivary glands pancreas liver gallbladder

J). Urinary

kidneys ureters bladder urethra

K). Reproductive Male

testes scrotum penis prostate duct system

Female

ovaries uterine tubes uterus vagina mammary glands

MURDER INC

muscle urinary reproduction digestive endocrine respiratory integumentary nervous

circulatory RIGHT HYPOCHONDRIAC REGION RIGHT LUMBAR REGION RIGHT ILIAC REGION EPIGASTRIC REGION UMBILICAL REGION HYPOGASTRIC (PUBIC) REGION
Return to the Anatomy Activities Index

LEFT HYPOCHONDRIAC REGION LEFT LUMBAR REGION LEFT ILIAC REGION

Tissues - Epithelium, Muscle, Connective Tissue and Nervous Tissue.

Anatomy

Activity
Age: 7th-12th Objectives: Students will be able to identify the fours basic body tissues, their characteristics and function. Equipment: Microscopes and histological slides.

Tissues are groups of cells with a common structure (form) and function (job). There are four main tissues in the body epithelium, muscle, connective tissue and nervous tissue. I. EPITHELIUM (EPITHELIAL TISSUE)

Functions (jobs):

1) It protects us from the outside world - skin 2) Absorbs stomach and intestinal lining (gut) 3) Filters the kidney 4) Secretes forms glands Characteristics (Traits):

1) Closely attached to each other forming a protective barrier. 2) Always has one free (apical) surface open to outside the body or inside (cavity) an internal organ. 3) Always had one fixed (basal) section attached to underlying connective tissue. 4) Has no blood vessels but can soak up nutrients from blood vessels in connective tissue underneath. 5) Can have lots of nerves in it (innervated). 6) Very good at regenerating (fixing itself). i.e. sunburn, skinned knee. Classifications (types):

1) By shape:

a) squamous - flat and scale-like b) cuboidal - as tall as they are wide c) columnar - tall, column-shaped 2) By cell arrangement: a) simple epithelium - single layer of cells (usually for absorption and filtration) b) stratified epithelium - stacked up cell layers (protection from abrasion mouth, skin.) II. CONNECTIVE TISSUE

Functions (jobs):

1) Wraps around and cushions and protects organs 2) Stores nutrients 3) Internal support for organs 4) As tendon and ligaments protects joints and attached muscles to bone and each other 5) Runs through organ capsules and in deep layers of skin giving strength The 3 Elements of Connective Tissue:

1) Ground substance gel around cells and fibers 2) Fibers provide strength, elasticity and support 3) Cells IIa. SPECIAL CONNECTIVE TISSUES

1) Cartilage

Functions (jobs): 1) provides strength with flexibility while resisting wear, i.e. epiglottis, external ear, larynx 2) cushions and shock absorbs where bones meet, i.e. intervertebral discs, joint capsules 2) Bone

Functions (jobs): 1) provides framework and strength for body 2) allows movement 3) stores calcium 4) contains blood-forming cells 3) Blood

Functions (jobs): 1) transports oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nutrients around the body 2) immune response III. NERVOUS TISSUE

Functions (jobs):

1) Conducts impulses to and from body organs via neurons The 3 Elements of Nervous Tissue 1) Brain 2) Spinal cord 3) Nerves IV. MUSCLE TISSUE

Functions (jobs):

1) Responsible for body movement 2) Moves blood, food, waste through bodys organs 3) Responsible for mechanical digestion The 3 Types of Muscle Tissue

4) Smooth Muscle organ walls and blood vessel walls, involuntary, spindleshaped cells for pushing things through organs 5) Skeletal Muscle large body muscles, voluntary, striated muscle packed in bundles and attached to bones for movement 6) Cardiac Muscle heart wall, involuntary, striated muscle with intercalated discs connecting cells for synchronized contractions during heart beat.

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