Page 42 - Fundamentals of anatomy physiology

These drawings show that people have always been fascinated
with the human body. Since that time, imaging techniques for
studying the human body have evolved, enabling us to de-
scribe the locations and functions of body parts. Over the last
two decades, the most rapid progress has taken place in the
field of molecular biology, which studies processes at the level
of individual genes. It uses principles of biology, chemistry,
genetics, and biochemistry. Molecular biology helps us under-
stand how the body works at the most fundamental level and
reveals the underlying basis for many disorders and diseases.
Medical science is always expanding and affects our ev-
eryday lives. We are flooded with health information from the
popular press, news media, and advertisements. Medical terms
have become part of our common language, and we owe it to
ourselves to understand them. This course will significantly ex-
pand your vocabulary and enhance your understanding of the
origins and meanings of many medical terms.
Checkpoint
1. Identify the oldest medical science.
2. Why is studying human anatomy and physiology
important?
See the blue Answers tab at the back of the book.
1-2 Anatomy is structure,
and physiology is function
Learning Outcome Define anatomy and physiology, describe the
origins of anatomical and physiological terms, and explain the significance means “study of.” So pathology is the study of disease.
of Terminologia Anatomica (International Anatomical Terminology).
People have always been interested in the inner workings of
the human body. Many medical terms have Greek roots, as do
many other anatomical terms and phrases that originated more
than 1500 years ago. For example, the term anatomy is derived
from Greek roots that mean “a cutting open.” Anatomy is the
study of internal and external body structures and their physical
relationships among other body parts. In contrast, physiology,
another Greek term, is the study of how living organisms per-
form their functions. Someone studying anatomy might, for
example, examine how a particular muscle attaches to the
skeleton. Someone studying physiology might consider how
a muscle contracts or what forces a contracting muscle exerts
on the skeleton. You will be studying both anatomy and physi-
ology in this book, so let’s look at the relationships ­between
these sciences.
Early anatomists faced serious problems in communica-
tion. Saying that a bump is “on the back,” for example, does
not give very precise information about its location. So anato-
mists created maps of the human body. Prominent anatomi-
cal structures serve as landmarks, distances are measured in
Chapter 1 An Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology 29
centimeters or inches, and specialized directional terms are
used. In effect, anatomy uses a special language that you must
learn almost at the start of your study.
1That special language, called medical terminology, in-
volves using word roots, prefixes, suffixes, and combining
forms to build terms related to the body in health and dis-
ease. Many of the anatomical and physiological terms you will
encounter in this textbook are derived from Greek or Latin.
Learning the word parts used in medical terminology will
greatly assist in your study of anatomy and physiology, and in
your preparation for any health-related career.
There are four basic building blocks—or word parts—of
medical terms. Word roots are the basic, meaningful parts of a
term that cannot be broken down into another term with an-
other definition. Prefixes are word elements that are attached
to the beginning of words to modify their meaning but cannot
stand alone. Suffixes are word elements or letters added to the
end of a word or word part to form another term. Combining
forms are independent words or word roots that are used in
combination with words, prefixes, suffixes, or other combin-
ing forms to build a new term. The table inside the back cover
of your textbook lists many commonly used word roots, pre-
fixes, suffixes, and combining forms.
To illustrate the building of medical terms, consider the
word pathology (puh-THOL-o. -je. ). Breaking this word into its
basic elements reveals its meaning. The prefix path- refers to
disease (the Greek term for disease is pathos). The suffix -ology
A familiarity with Latin and Greek word roots and pat-
terns makes anatomical terms easier to understand. As we in-
troduce new terms, we will provide notes on pronunciation
and r­elevant word parts.
Latin and Greek terms are not the only ones that have
been imported into the anatomical vocabulary over the cen-
turies, and this vocabulary continues to expand. Many ana-
tomical structures and clinical conditions were first named
after e­ ither the discoverer or, in the case of diseases, the most
f­amous victim. Over the last 100 years, most of these com-
memorative names, or eponyms, have been replaced by more
precise terms. Where appropriate, we will give both the ep-
onym and the more precise term, because in clinical medi-
cine, both terms may be used.
It is important for scientists throughout the world to use
the same name for each body structure. In 1998, two scien-
tific organizations—the Federative Committee on Anatomical
Terminology and the 56 member associations of the Interna-
tional Associations of Anatomists—published International
Anatomical Terminology (Terminologia Anatomica, or TA). Ter-
minologia Anatomica serves as a worldwide official standard
of anatomical vocabulary. Latin continues to be the language
of anatomy, but this reference provides an English equivalent