Survey of Life

I. Homeostasis: stable internal operating conditions within the body (e.g. Ph, temperature)
Systems of the body
• Integument: protective outer covering of the body; first barrier that separates us from
external environment
•Functions:
1.Protection from abrasion, bacterial attack, ultraviolet radiation, dehydration
2.Helps control internal temperature
3.Sensory receptors detect environmental stimuli
•Structures of Skin
1.Epidermis
•Formed by several layers of living cells
1.Stratum basale (which produces melatonin and makes you
tan) - innermost layer of the epidermis (mitotic); contains
melanocytes which darken the skin and protect against UV rays
2.Statum corneum: outermost layer, consists of flattened dead
cells = keratin
5.Dermis
•Mostly connective tissue: composed of collagen and elastin; composed
mostly of proteins
•Houses sweat and oil glands, blood vessels, lymph vessels, sensory
nerves, blood vessels
6.Sweat glands, oil glands, hair and arrestor pili muscles
•Sweat glands produce fluid in response to stress (fright, overheating)
•Oil glands (sebaceous glands) lubricate skin and soften it; produce
secretions that reduce bacterial population on skin
•Hair: root embedded in dermis
•Arrestor pili: smooth muscles that are attached to and erect hairs:
cause goose bumps (response to cold or fear/anger)
•Hypertrichosis: condition in which a human has an abnormal
growth of hair, i.e. Werewolf syndrome
✴ In lab, oil gland will look like a group of circles with a dot in the
middle under the microscope
✴Sweat glands will look like long, thin donuts under microscope;
cluster of tubes tangled together
7.Skin Caner
•Most common form of cancer in the US
•Basal cell carcinoma: most common type; less deadly than
melanoma
•Squamos cell carcinoma: another common type; less deadly
than melanoma
•Malignant melanoma: if it spreads into underlying
tissues/circulatory system, high death rate results
•High rate of successful treatment if detected early
II. Skeletal System
•Humans have an endoskeleton composed of bone and cartilage
•Cartilage
7.Hyaline cartilage: tracheal rings, end of nose, end of sternum, and in the
articulating joints
8.Elastic cartilage: external ear
9.Fibrocartilage: found in intervertebral disks
•Bone structure and function
7.Bone functions:
11.a.Interact with muscles to move the body
11.b.Support and protect
11.c.Depository - calcium & minerals
11.d.Blood production (red and white)
11.e.Provides shape
12.Bone Structure: (2a) (Diaphysis and epiphysisthr)
12.a.Compact bone: found on the outside of the bone; found outside
the epiphysis
12.b.Osteocytes (bone cells): are found in compact bone and housed in
spaces call lacunae
12.c.Haversian systems: are found in compact bone and are composed
of concentric circles called lamellae
12.d.At the center of each Haversian system is the Haversian canal
which contains blood vessels and nerves
12.e.Canaliculi: tiny channels that connect Haversian canals to
osteocytes
12.f.Spongy bone is found mostly in the epiphysis, and contains red
marrow and produces blood cells
13.Bone formation and remodeling (osteocytes and osteoclasts are going to
be considered the same)
13.a.Start with a cartilage model: secretions made by osteocytes
become mineralized
13.b.Remodeling: minerals are deposited and removed at the same
time; at first deposited more than removing, and as you get older,
removing more than depositing
14.Bone growth: length and diameter
14.a.Somatotropin stimulates osteocytes to deposit matrix: bones grow
longer
14.b.Osteocytes deposit new matrix to the outside of the bone as well
14.c.As bone grows, bone cavity grows as well; bones are pretty light
14.d.Somatotropin also causes osteoclasts in the marrow cavity to
remove matrix from the inside of the bone
14.e.Bone and cavity become larger
✦Atlas and Axis (only two vertebrae we have to know)
15.Skeletal Joints
15.a.Joints are areas of contact or near contact between bones; diff
types permit diff types of movement
15.b.Fibrous joints have no gaps between the bones, e.g. Flat cranial
bones; permit little/no movement
15.c.Cartilaginous joints permit only slight movement, e.g.
Intervertebral disks
15.d.Synovial joints move freely
1.Stabilized by ligaments (which connect bones to other bones;
tendons connect bones to muscles)
2.Synovial fluid lubricates the joint
 3.E.g. Ball and socket joints, hinge joints
15.e.Joints are vulnerable to stress
1.Stretching or twisting may result in a sprain: tearing or
damaging ligaments
2.In osteoarthritis, the cartilage at the end of a bone wears out
3.In rheumatoid arthritis, the synovial membranes become
inflamed, the cartilage degenerates, and bone is deposited in
the joints
15.f.Osteoporosis: excessively thin bones; usually occurs with age
15.g.Recovery with skeletal damage is harder/longer with age
III. Muscular System (skeletal)
A. How muscles and bones interact
1. Each skeletal muscle: hundreds of thousands of muscle cells (fibers)
a) Muscles connect to bones near joints: transmit force to the bone to movie it
via tendons
b) Skeletal muscles interact (work with and in opposition to one another) to
conduct tasks
B. Human skeletal muscular system
1. More than 600 skeletal muscles; voluntary muscle
2. Skeletal muscles (most abundant) up to 40% of a person’s weight
3. Origin, Insertion * know difference
C. Skeletal muscle structure and function
1. Sarcomeres: the units of contraction; when muscles contract, sarcomeres shorten-
muscles shorten
2. Muscle fibers are composed of myofibrils
a) Myofibrils are composed of two types of myofilaments: actin and myosin
(1) Actin: thin, two beaded strands twisted together
(2) Myosin: thicker; bulbous heads
(3) SARCOMERE
D. Sliding filament model for contraction
1. Sarcomere
a) Myosin and actin filaments overlap in the A band
b) H zone: only myosin
c) I bands: only actin
d) Z bands/lines: where actin is anchored to the sarcomere
2. Cross-bridge formation: myosin heads attach to binding sites on the actin filament
and pull the actin filament towards the center of the sarcomere
3. The myosin heads will then release and reattach to continue moving the actin
filament towards the center of the sarcomere.
4. ATP supplies energy for attachment and reattachment
E. Energy for contraction
1. ATP provides energy
2. During prolonged, moderate exercise, aerobic respiration supplies most of the ATP
3. If exercise is intense glycolysis (anaerobic) contributes ATP
4. Without ATP myofilaments will not slide past one another
F. Control of contraction
1. Motor Unit: nerve cell and the muscle cells that it stimulates
2. Contraction is initiated by a nerve impulse that spreads across the sarcolemma
(muscle cell membrane)
3. The nerve impulse causes a reversal in charge along the sarcolemma called an
action potential (usually slightly negative, changes to slightly positive)
4. The nerve impulse then travels via numerous transverse tubules (t-tubules)
through the sarcoplasm and into the sarcoplasmic reticulum
5. Sarcoplasmic reticulum: takes up, stores, and releases calcium ions
6. The calcium ions diffuse through the cells
7. Calcium unblocks binding sites on the actin filament (normally bound with protein
complex)
8. Myosin heads bind to actin filaments: sarcomere contracts
9. When the action potential is over calcium ions return to the sarcoplasmic
reticulum
G. Properties of whole muscles
1. When a threshold stimulus is reached a muscle cell contracts maximally (all
or none principle)
 2. Multiple Motor Summation: as more units are stimulated, muscle strength
increases
3. Temporal Summation: the rate at which stimuli is sent to a muscle. Increase in
temporal summation = increase in rate and force of contraction
4. Tetany: sustained maximal contraction
5. Latent Period: time between application of stimulus and contraction = time for
impulse to travel through the t-tubules, calcium ions to diffuse through the cells,
and myosin filaments to bind to the actin filaments (SEE 3C)
H. Muscles and exercise
1. Exercise causes muscles to increase in size and metabolic activity
2. Number of muscle cells does not increase; size of muscle cells increases
3. The number of actin and myosin filaments increase with increased exercise, but
decrease with lack of use (atrophy)
I. Cardiac Muscle (avg. Heart rate: 70 beats/minute)
1. Found in the heart; contains intercalated disks; single nucleus; involuntary, but
some people have learned some control over heart rate
J. Smooth Muscle
1. Tapered at the ends; under involuntary control: found in the digestive system and
lining blood vessel walls; single nucleus; only one that is not striated
IV. The Digestive System (* Electrogastrogram: waves of contractions down smooth muscle;
good indicator of lying)
A. The digestive system is a long tube (alimentary canal) with two openings and several
sphincters (21-30 ft long)
B. Peristalsis: waves of contractions that move food through the digestive tract
C. Mucus coated epithelium lines all surfaces along the lumen (space inside the tube);
mucus serves as protection so enzymes that break proteins down do not break down
the tissue of the digestive system (also protects from hydrochloric acid in stomach)
1. Hydrolysis: large food molecules broken down into small molecules
D. Enzyme: lower the activation energy of reactions
1. Carbohydrases: carbohydrates hydrolyzed to simple sugars
2. Lypases: lipids hydrolyzed to glycerol
3. Proteases: proteins hydrolyzed to amino acids
4. Nucleases: nucleic acids hydrolyzed to nucleotides
E. Oral cavity
1. 32 teeth (*flossing makes top five things to do to increase life expectancy)
2. Tongue
3. Salivary Glands: produce saliva, which contains salivary amylase: an enzyme
that beaks starch down into maltose
4. Mucus binds food into a softened lubricated ball called a bolus
5. The hard palate forms the anterior roof of the oral cavity; the soft palate forms the
posterior roof: uvula
6. The palatine tonsils lie below the uvula
F. Pharynx: the tubular entrance into the esophagus and trachea (windpipe)
1. Epiglottis: a flap-like valve: closes off the trachea when you swallow
G. Swallowing
1. The soft palate raises and prevents food from entering the nasal cavity
2. Epiglottis closes off the trachea
3. Pharynx opens
4. Peristaltic wave forces food into the esophagus
H. Esophagus: muscular tube; connects pharynx to the stomach
1. Cardiac sphincter: juncture of esophagus and stomach (causes heartburn if it
doesn’t close entirely; heartburn is esophagus burning)
I. Stomach: a muscular sac that stores and mixes food; breaks proteins into
polypeptides
1. Gastric pits: tubes leading from a series of gastric glands which produce
hydrochloric acid (HCl), mucus, pepsinogen
2. When pepsinogen comes into contact with HCl, it is converted into the active
enzyme pepsin, which hydrolyzes protein
3. High stomach acidity + strong stomach contractions convert food into a liquid
mixture called chyme
4. Mucus secreted by the stomach glands protects the stomach and small intestine
lining; peptic ulcer: infection by the bacteria Helicobacter pylori; bacteria starts to
eat away at tissue