The electron microscope is operated in a vacuum. It can be classified into two types.

One type is the

transmission electron microscope (TEM), which requires a very think solid as a track detector, such as a
mica flake. Its resolution usually is about 1 nm–10 μm. Very high voltage and antivibration transmission
electron microscopes can even resolute individual atoms. Another type is the scanning electron
microscope (SEM), which can resolve about 2 nm–50 μm. When using a scanning electron microscope to
measure tracks, it is best to have a sputter coater or a vacuum evaporation chamber to prepare a
conductive layer on the surface of the etched detector so that the detector surface changes to be
conductive to electrons.

Directional Terms
In general, directional terms are grouped in pairs of opposites based on the standard
anatomical position.

 Superior and Inferior. Superior means above, inferior means below. The elbow is
superior (above) to the hand. The foot is inferior (below) to the knee.
 Anterior and Posterior. Anterior means toward the front (chest side) of the body,
posterior means toward the back.
 Medial and Lateral. Medial means toward the midline of the body, lateral means
away from the midline. Ipsilateral means on the same side—the left arm is
ipsilateral (on the same side) to the left leg.
 Proximal and Distal. Proximal means closest to the point of origin or trunk of the
body, distal means farthest away. Proximal and distal are often used when
describing arms and legs. If you were describing the shin bone, the proximal end
would be the end close to the knee and the distal end would be the end close to
the foot. In the fingers of the hand, a proximal joint is closest to the wrist and a
distal joint is farthest from the wrist.
 Superficial and Deep. Superficial means toward the body surface, deep means
farthest from the body surface.
Other directional terms:

 Intermediate – means between—your heart is intermediate to your lungs.

 Caudal – at or near the tail or posterior end of the body.
 Visceral – may be used instead of deep.
There are also terms that describe specific body parts. Palmar describes the palm side
of the hand. Dorsal describes the back side of the hand. Plantar describes the bottom of
the foot.

Anatomical Reference Planes

 A plane is a two-dimensional surface — its
dimensions are length and width. The body reference planes are used to locate or
describe the location of structures in the body. These terms are often used to describe
medical imaging such as CAT scans, PET scans and MRIs where the scans take pictures
of the body in flat slices. Brain scans are often of sagittal plane slices (from ear to ear).
Abdominal CAT scans are often transverse plane slices (like a stack of coins).

The three basic planes intersect at right angles to each other. When the three basic
planes intersect in the center of the body (as seen in the image to the right) they can
be used to describe various relationships within the body.

Main Reference Planes

 Sagittal plane (median, wheel) — this vertical (top to bottom) plane divides the
body into left and right sides; a plane that divides the body down the middle into
equal left and right sides is the Median Sagittal Plane.
 Coronal (vertical, frontal, door) plane — a vertical plane that divides the body into
front (anterior or ventral) and back (posterior or dorsal)
 Transverse (horizontal, table) plane — this horizontal plane is parallel to the
ground and divides the body into up (toward the head) and down (toward the
feet)
 Oblique plane is not shown; it is a slanted plane (at an angle) that lies between
the horizontal and vertical planes.

Body Cavities
 Body cavities are areas in the body that contain our
internal organs. The dorsal and ventral cavities are the two main cavities. The dorsal
cavity is on the posterior (back side) of the body and contains the cranial cavity and
spinal cavity. In human anatomy, dorsal, caudal and posterior mean the same thing.
The ventral cavity is on the front (anterior) of the body and is divided into the thoracic
cavity (chest) and abdominopelvic cavity.

Dorsal Cavity
The dorsal cavity is further divided into subcavities:

 cranial cavity (also called the calvaria) which surrounds and holds the brain
 vertebral cavity (also called the spinal cavity) which includes the vertebrae (spinal
column) and spinal cord.
Ventral Cavity
The ventral cavity is on the front of the trunk. The diaphragm (the main muscle of
breathing) divides the ventral cavity into two simple subcavities: thoracic and
abdominal.

 thoracic cavity which is surrounded by the ribs and chest muscles is superior
(above) to the diaphragm and abdominopelvic cavity. It is further divided into the
pleural cavities (left and right) which contain the lungs, bronchi, and the
mediastinum which contains the heart, pericardial membranes, large vessels of the
 heart, trachea (windpipe), upper esophagus, thymus gland, lymph nodes, and
other blood vessels and nerves.
 abdominopelvic cavity is divided into the abdominal cavity and pelvic cavity.
The abdominal cavity is between the diaphragm and the pelvis. It is lined with a
membrane and contains the stomach, lower part of the esophagus, small and large
intestines (except sigmoid and rectum), spleen, liver, gallbladder, pancreas,
adrenal glands, kidneys and ureters. The pelvic cavity contains the bladder,
some reproductive organs and the rectum.
The thoracic cavity is open at the top and the abdominal cavity is open at the bottom.
Both cavities are bound on the back by the spine. Even though their location is defined,
the shape of these cavities can change. How they change is very different. Breathing is
the main way the shape of these two cavities changes. The abdominal
cavity changes shape similar to a water-filled balloon. When you squeeze the balloon,
the shape changes as the balloon bulges. When breathing compresses the abdominal
cavity it “bulges” into a different shape. The abdominal cavity can also change shape
based on volume—that is how much you eat and drink. The more you eat and drink,
the harder it is for the diaphragm to compress the abdominal cavity—which is why it is
harder to breathe after a large meal. Also, an increase in volume of the abdominal
cavity decreases the volume in the thoracic cavity—you can take in less
air. The thoracic cavity changes both shape and volume when you breathe. When
you breathe out, the volume decreases; when you breathe in the volume increases.
Because of how these two cavities are linked together in shape change, you can see
that the quality of breathing affects the health of abdominal organs and the health of
our organs affects the quality of our breathing.
Other Cavities
 oral cavity – the space in the mouth inside the teeth and gums and is filled with
the tongue when it is relaxed.
 nasal cavity – in the nose
 orbital cavities (left and right) – hold the eyes
 middle ear cavities (left and right) – hold the small bones of the middle ear
 synovial cavities – are inside the joint capsules that surround freely moving joints
(such as the hip, knee, elbow, and shoulder)

Body Quadrants
Quadrants are another way our bodies are divided into regions for both diagnostic and
descriptive purposes.

Body Regions
 Body regions describe areas of the body that have a
special function or are supplied by specific blood vessels or nerves. The most widely
used terms are those that describe the 9 abdominal regions shown in the image to the
right. The regions are named below and the corresponding regions are labeled 1-9.

Abdominal Regions
 right (1) and left (3) hypochondriac regions – on either side of the epigastric
region. Contains the diaphragm, some of the kidneys, right side of the liver, the
spleen and part of the pancreas.
 epigastric region (2) – superior (above) the umbilical region and contains most of
the pancreas, part of the stomach, liver, inferior vena cava, abdominal aorta and
duodenum
 right (4) and left (6) lumbar (lateral) regions – on either side of the umbilical
region. They contain portions of the large and small intestines and kidneys.
 umbilical region (5) – area around the umbilicus (belly button). Includes sections
of the large and small intestines, inferior vena cava and abdominal aorta
 right (7) and left (9) iliac (inguinal) regions – are on either side of the hypogastric
region and include portions of the large and small intestines.
 hypogastric (pubic) (8) region – inferior (below) the umbilical region. Contains
parts of the sigmoid colon, the urinary bladder and ureters, the uterus and ovaries
(women), and portions of the small intestines.
Abdominal Quadrants
 Quadrants are divide our bodies into regions for
diagnostic and descriptive purposes. The quadrants are defined by drawing an
imaginary line vertically (top to bottom) and horizontally (sideways) though the
umbilicus (belly button). The following is a list of the organs in the four quadrants.

 Right Upper Quadrant (RUQ) – right lobe of liver, gallbladder, part of the
transverse colon, part of pylorus, hepatic flexure, right kidney, and duodenum.
 Right Lower Quadrant (RLQ) – cecum, ascending colon, small intestine, appendix,
bladder if distended, right ureter, right spermatic duct (men), right ovary and right
tube and uterus if enlarged (women).
 Left Upper Quadrant (LUQ) – Left lobe of liver, stomach, small intestine,
transverse colon, splenic flexure, pancreas, left kidney and spleen.
 Left Lower Quadrant (LLQ) – small intestine, left ureter, sigmoid flexure,
descending colon, bladder if distended, left spermatic duct (men) left ovary and
left tube and uterus if enlarged (women).

Body Areas
 Abdominal — relating to the abdomen. The abdomen is the part of the trunk
between the chest and pelvis. It can be divided into three regions: the front, the
belly; in back the loins; and on the sides, the flanks.
 Antecubital — region of the arm in front of the elbow
 Brachial — over the brachial artery in the upper arm
 Buccal — of or relating to the cheeks or the mouth
 Calf — of or relating to the calf
 Femoral — relating to the femur or thigh
 Inguinal — the groin or area in lower lateral regions of the abdomen
 Lumbar — area over the lumbar spine
 Popliteal — region on the back of the knee
 Scapular — of or relating to the area near the shoulder blade (scapula)
 Umbilical — relating to the central area of the abdomen near the bellybutton

 For example, the human body uses a number of processes to control its
temperature, keeping it close to an average value or norm of 98.6
degrees Fahrenheit. One of the most obvious physical responses to
 overheating is sweating, which cools the body by making more moisture
on the skin available for evaporation. On the other hand, the body
reduces heat-loss in cold surroundings by sweating less and reducing
blood circulation to the skin. Thus, any change that either raises or
lowers the normal temperature automatically triggers a counteracting,
opposite or negative feedback . Here, negative merely means opposite,
not bad; in fact, it operates for our well being in this example. Positive
feedback is a response to change from the normal condition that
increases the departure even more.

 For example, if a person's temperature is raised to about 107 degrees

Fahrenheit, the negative feedback systems stop operating. A person with
a high fever has hot, dry skin if they do sweat to help cool it. Not only
have the negative feedback systems shut down in such a case; the
increased temperature speeds up the body chemistry, which causes the
temperature to rise even more, which in turn speeds up the body
chemistry even more, and so forth. This vicious cycle of positive
feedback, a "runaway" process, can only end in death if not stopped.

 It is important to emphasize that homeostatic reactions are inevitable

and automatic if the system is functioning properly, and that a steady
state or homeostasis may be maintained by many systems operating
together. For example, flushing is another of the body's automatic
responses to heating: the skin reddens because its small blood vessels
automatically expand to bring more heated blood close to the surface
where it can cool. Shivering is another response to chilling: the
involuntary movements burn body tissue to produce more body heat.

 Negative feedback arises out of balances between forces and factors that
mutually influence each other. To illustrate several of its important
characteristics, we can regard a car and its driver as a unified, complex,
homeostatic or "goal-seeking" system--a cyborg, or "cybernetic
organism," in that it seeks to keep the car moving on track. The driver
does not steer by holding the wheel in a fixed position but keeps turning
the wheel slightly to the left and right, seeking the wheel positions that
will bring the naturally meandering car back on track. Disturbance, or
departure from equilibrium, is every bit as important as negative
feedback: Systems cannot correct themselves if they do not stray.

What is medical imaging?

Medical imaging refers to techniques and processes used to create images of various
parts of the human body for diagnostic and treatment purposes within digital health.

The term, medical imaging, includes various radiological imaging techniques such as:

X-ray radiography
Fluoroscopy
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Medical ultrasonography or ultrasound
Endoscopy
Elastography
Tactile imaging
Thermography
Medical photography and nuclear medicine functional imaging techniques e.g. positron
emission tomography (PET)

Metabolism is a term that is used to describe all chemical reactions involved in

maintaining the living state of the cells and the organism. Metabolism can be
conveniently divided into two categories:

 Catabolism - the breakdown of molecules to obtain energy

 Anabolism - the synthesis of all compounds needed by the cells

Metabolism is closely linked to nutrition and the availability of nutrients. Bioenergetics is

a term which describes the biochemical or metabolic pathways by which the cell
ultimately obtains energy. Energy formation is one of the vital components of
metabolism.

Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to
100 nanometers.

Nanoscience and nanotechnology are the study and application of extremely small things and can be
used across all the other science fields, such as chemistry, biology, physics, materials science, and
engineering.

The ideas and concepts behind nanoscience and nanotechnology started with a talk entitled “There’s
Plenty of Room at the Bottom” by physicist Richard Feynman at an American Physical Society meeting at
the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) on December 29, 1959, long before the term
nanotechnology was used. In his talk, Feynman described a process in which scientists would be able to
manipulate and control individual atoms and molecules. Over a decade later, in his explorations of
ultraprecision machining, Professor Norio Taniguchi coined the term nanotechnology. It wasn't until 1981,
with the development of the scanning tunneling microscope that could "see" individual atoms, that modern
nanotechnology