53 cards
To introduce anatomy, all descriptions begin from the standard anatomical position: a person standing upright with feet together and parallel, arms at the sides with palms facing forward, and the head and eyes directed straight ahead. This reference posture ensures consistency across anatomical descriptions regardless...
The skeletal system provides the rigid framework on which the body is built. Its 206 adult bones serve multiple functions: they support soft tissues, protect vital organs like the brain and heart, enable movement by serving as attachment sites for muscles, store minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, and house bone m...
Muscle tissue exists in three forms, each tailored to its location and function. Skeletal muscle is voluntary and striated, attached to bones and controlled consciously to produce movement. Smooth muscle is involuntary and non-striated, lining the walls of hollow organs and blood vessels to drive unconscious processes...
The nervous system is organized into two main divisions that work together to sense, integrate, and respond to information. The central nervous system (CNS) consists of the brain and spinal cord and serves as the integrative center. The peripheral nervous system (PNS) extends outside the CNS and includes sensory neuron...
The cardiovascular system delivers oxygen and nutrients while removing metabolic wastes through a muscular pump and a network of vessels. The heart wall is composed of three layers: the outer epicardium, a serous layer covering the surface; the thick myocardium of cardiac muscle responsible for contraction; and the inn...
The digestive system breaks food into absorbable nutrients through a muscular tube called the alimentary canal and several accessory organs that aid digestion. The stomach prepares food chemically and mechanically; its regions include the cardia surrounding the entrance from the esophagus, the fundus curving above, the...
The reproductive systems differ markedly between the sexes but share the purpose of producing gametes, supporting fertilization, and in females, nurturing developing offspring. In the male, paired testes lie in the scrotum, which regulates their temperature for spermatogenesis. Within each testis, seminiferous tubules...
The eye is a roughly spherical organ whose anterior cornea provides initial refraction of light, while the iris controls the size of the pupil to regulate light entry. Behind the pupil, the lens fine-tunes focus on the retina, the posterior lining containing photoreceptors (rods for dim light and cones for color vision...