Intro to Anatomy 1: Life, Organization, and Terminology

An Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology

Chapter One: Life, Levels of Organization, and Relevant Terminology

Introduction:

I thought it might be fun to start a series of articles covering the subject of human anatomy and physiology. It’s a topic we can all relate to, so hopefully it’ll be of some interest.

My intention isn’t to go into too much detail, but rather to provide what will hopefully be an accessible overview of the various body systems, what they do, and how they function. It goes without saying (I hope) that most of what applies to human A&P applies just as well to other vertebrates, but I thought it’d be best to concentrate on Homo sapiens, since that’s the one species of vertebrate in which all of us have a vested interest.

Of course, before we can get into the nuts and bolts of how the digestive system functions or what the “sliding filament theory” is about and other such interesting things, we have to first cover the basics. So, I thought I’d start out with a brief overview of some relevant material: what is “biology” and what are “anatomy” and “physiology”? What is “life” and how do we distinguish living things from non-living things? This will doubtless prove pretty basic for most people, but perhaps it will provide a good review. If nothing else, the review will hopefully help once we get to the more complicated stuff.