This document provides an overview of anatomical terminology, medical imaging techniques, and organ systems. It begins by describing the different levels of structural organization in the body from atoms to organ systems. Next, it defines anatomy and the various branches including gross, developmental, histology, and pathology. Medical imaging techniques such as X-rays, CT, MRI, ultrasound and PET are also introduced. Finally, the 12 major organ systems are listed including the integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous and others.

1. Chapt e r 1 : Anatomi c al Terminol o g y , Medical Imagin g , Organ Sys t em
Overvi ew
I. Levels of Organization of Organisms
A. atoms (eleme n t s of periodic table)
B. molecul e s (proteins, lipids, carbohydr a t e s , nucleic acid)
C. cells (epithelial, bone, muscle, nervous )
D. tissue s (epithelial, conne ctive, muscul ar)
E. organ (stoma c h, hear t, brain, lung)
F. organ system (muscul ar, skelet al, diges tive, nervous )
G. whole organi sm (each different species )
Levels of Structural Organization
Chemical level
Atoms combine to
form molecules
Smooth muscle cell
Cellular level
Cells are made up of molecules
Tissue level
Tissues consist of
similar types of
cells
Organismal level
The human organism is
made up of many organ
systems
Heart
Blood
vessels
Blood
vessel
(organ)
Organ system level
Organ systems consist of different organs
that work together closely
Smooth
muscle
tissue
Cardiovascular
system
Epithelial
tissue
Smooth
muscle
tissue
Connective
tissue
Organ level
Organs are made up of
different types of tissues
Molecules
Atoms
II. Anatomy - the study of the structur e s of an organi sm
A. Gross Anatomy - structur e s as seen by unaide d eye
Figure 1.1
B. Developme n t a l Anatomy - study of the anatomy of the developing organi sm

2. 1. Embryology - fertilization to third month of fetus
C. Histology ("tissue s" "to study") - structur e s that can be seen with the microscop e
such as cells and tissue s
1. Cytology - study of cell structur e/function
D. Systemic Anatomy - study of individual organ syst em
E. Regional Anatomy - study of structur e s in particular are a
F. Pathology ("dise a s e" "to study") - study of chang e s in structur e due to
dise a s e /injury
III. Structur e - Function Relationships
A. Anatomy - study of structur e
Physiology - study of function
B. Structur e det ermin e s Function
Function det ermin e s Structur e
C. Charles Darwin - "Origin of the Species" (1858) - Chang e s in structur e affect
function: basis of evolution of all organisms
IV. Anatomical Terminology - The Langua g e of Anatomy
1. Prefixes Indicating Location, Direction, and Tendency
 Prefix Meaning Example_________________
 Ab- from, away abnormal - away from normal
 Ad- to, near, toward adrenal - near the kindey
 Ante- before antepartum - before delivery of child
 Brady- slow bradycardia - slow heart beat
 Brev- short brevity - in a short time
 Circum- around circumocular - around the eye
 Co- with, together coordinate - work together
 Con- with, together congenital - with birth
 Contra- against contraindicated - not indicated
 Counter- against counterirritant - against irritation
 Dis- apart from disarticulated - taking a joint apart
 Ect- outside ectonuclear - outside the nucleus
 End- within endocardium - lining inner heart
 Epi- upon, on top of epidermis - upon the skin
 Ex- out from exhalation - breathe out
 Hypo- under, lower hypodermic - under the skin
 Hyper- above, higher hyperactive - higher level activity
 Im- not immature - not mature
 In- not incurable - not curable
 Infra- under, below infrapatellar - below the knee
 Peri- around pericardium - sac around the heart
 Post- after postmortem - after death

3.  Pre- before prenatal - before birth
 Pro- before prognosis - a fore-knowing
 Super- above, on top superciliary - above the eyebrow
 Supra- above, on top suprapubic - above the pubic bone
 Sym- with, together symphony - sounds played together
 Syn- with, together synarthrosis - union of bones
 Trans- through, across transurethral - through the urethra
2. Prefixes Indicating Number and Measurement
 Uni- one unicycle - one wheel
 Mono- one mononuclear - one nucleus
 Bi- two bilateral - two sides
 Bin- two binocular - two eyes
 Di- two dicephalic - two heads
 Ter- three tertiary - the third part or stage
 Tri- three trilobar - three lobes
 Quadr- four quadriceps - muscle w four heads
 Tetra- four tetracylcine - four-ringed molecule
 Poly- many polydactyly - many digits (more than 5)
 Oligo- few oligosaccharide - few sugars linked together
 Micro- small microscope - equipment to view small things
 Macro- large macrophage - large eating cell
 Mega- great/enormous megadontia - huge teeth
3. Prefixes Denoting Organs, Structures, Things
 Acoust- sound acoustics - quality of sound
 Aud- ear, hear audition - to hear someone
 Abdomin/o abdomen abdominal - relating to the abdomen
 Acr/o extremity, limbs acromegaly - abnormally large limbs
 Blast/o early, embryonic blastocyte - embryonic type cell
 Aden/o gland adenopathy - disease of a gland
 Angi/o vessel angiogram - picture of a vessel
 Arthr/o joint arthritis - inflammation of a joint
 Bucc/o cheek buccolabial - relating to cheek and lip
 Cardi/o heart cardiology - study of the heart
 Corp- body corpus callosum - connecting body
 Chondr/o cartilage chondrocyte - cartilage cell
 Cephal/o head cephalic - relating to the head
 Cyst/o bladder cystoscopy - view of the bladder
 Cyt/o cell cytokinesis - cell movement
 Dent/o tooth dental - referring to teeth

4.  Dermat/o skin dermatitis - skin inflammation
 Duoden/o duodenum duodenal - relating to the duodenum
 Encephal/o brain encephalitis - brain inflammation
 Gastr/o stomach gastrointestinal - stomach and intestine
 Hepat/o liver hepatitis - liver inflammation
 Gloss/o tongue glossopathy - tongue disease
 Glute- buttocks gluteus minimus - small buttocks muscle
 Laryng/o larynx laryngitis - larynx inflammation
 My/o muscle myocardium - heart muscle
 Nephr/o kidney nephrologist - one who studies kidneys
 Neur/o nerve neurosurgeon - surgeon of nervous system
 Oste/o bone osteocyte - bone cell
 Ot/o ear otitis media - middle ear inflammation
 Ophthalm/o eye exophthalmos - eyes bulge out
 Path/o disease pathological - relating to disease
 Pneumon/o lung pneumonia - condition of the lung
 Rhin/o nose rhinoplasty - reform the nose
 Stomat/o mouth, opening stomatitis - mouth inflammation
 Thorac/o chest or thorax thoracocentesis - puncture of the thora
4. Suffixes Denoting Relations, Conditions, and Agents
Suffix Meaning Example____________________________
 -ac related to cardiac - related to the heart
 -ious related to contagious - communicable by contact
 -ic related to pyloric - related to pyloric valve of stomach
 -ism condition mutism - condition of being mute
 -osis condition scoliosis - S-shaped condition of backbone
 -tion condition constipation - constant blockage condition
 -ist agent (a person) opthalmologist - eye doctor
 -or agent operator
 -er agent examiner
 -ician agent physician
 -centesis to puncture amniocentesis - puncture the amnion (fluid)
 -ectomy to cut out and remove appendectomy - cut out & remove appendix
 -ostomy to cut and form opening colostomy - opening to drain the colon
 -otomy to cut or slice tracheotomy - cut the trachea
 -pexy to fix or repair gastropexy - repair the stomach

5.  -plasty to reform or repair rhinoplasty - reform the nose
 -rraphy to suture, sew ateriorraphy - suture an artery
 -scopy to view otoscope - instrument to view ear
 -algia pain neuralgia - nerve pain
 -cide kill or destroy germicide - substance that kills germs
 -emia of the blood cholesterolemia - cholesterol in the blood
 -gram writing or record electrocardiogram - record of heart action
 -graph recording instrument electrocardiograph - records the heart
 -itis inflammation appendicitis - appendix inflammation
 -ology the study of ophthalmology - study of the eye
 -oma tumor lymphoma - tumor of lymphatics
 -orrhea flow menorrhea - flow during menstruation
 -malacia soft osteomalacia - bone softening
 -phasia speech dysphasia - slurred or blunted speech
 -phobia fear arachnophobia - fear of spiders
B. Anatomic al Position
1. subject stands erect
2. upper limbs placed at sides with palms forward
3. feet flat on floor in natur al forward direction
C. Directional Terms (practice using them in the lab!)
1. superior (ceph alic) : inferior (caud al)
2. ant erior (ventr al) : post erior (dorsal)
3. medi al : later al
4. ipsilat er al (same side) : contrala t er al (opposit e)
5. proximal : distal
6. superficial : deep
7. pariet al : viscer al
D. Planes and Sections
1. sagitt al - divides into right and left part s
a. midsa gi tt al - right down the middle
b. para s a gi t t al - away from the midline
2. frontal (coronal) - divides anterior & post erior
3. horizont al (transve r s e) - divide superior & inferior

6. E. Body Cavities
1. Dorsal Body Cavity
a. cranial cavity (brain)
b. vertebr al cavity (spinal cord)
2. Ventral Body Cavity (viscera - organs found here)
a. thoracic cavity
i. pleural cavity (spac e separ a ting the pariet al pleura and
viscer al pleura of lungs - like balloon pushe d in with fist)
ii. medi a s tinum - all cont ent s of thoracic cavity except the
lungs (eg. hear t)
b. abdominop elvic cavity
i. abdomin al - stoma c h, sple en, liver, gallbladd e r , pancr e a s ,
small intes tine ii. pelvic - urinary bladd er , cecum,
appe n dix, sigmoid colon, rectum, reproductive
organs

8. 3. Other Body Cavities
a. oral cavity (mouth)
b. nasal cavity (sinus e s for air pas s a g e )
c. orbital cavities (eyes)
d. middle ear cavities (in tempor al bone)
e. synovial cavities (freely move a bl e joints)
V. Divisions of Abdominop elvic Cavity
A. Quadr a nt s (from the umbilicus - belly button)
1. right upper quadr a nt (RUQ)
2. left upper quadr a nt (LUQ)
3. right lower quadr a nt (RLQ)
4. left lower quadr a n t (LLQ)

9. B. Regions (nine regions around umbilicus)
VI. Specific Terms for Various Regions

10. VII. Medical Imaging Technique s
A. Classic X-ray : radiogr a p hy (radiogr a p h)
1. good for dens e structur e s (bone s and tumor s)

11. B. Comput e d Tomogr a p h y (CT) or Comput e r ize d Axial Tomogr ap h y (CAT) Scanning
1. employs X-ray technology to creat e clearer image
2. tumor s , aneurysms , kidney stone s , gallston e s , etc.
D. Magnetic Resona nc e Imaging (MRI)
1. uses magn e t ic proper tie s of molecul e s , not X-rays
2. pres e n c e of canc er cells, chemic al disea s e of brain, spinal cord disorder s ,
blood flow problems , injury after stroke, mea s ur e effect s of drugs
on tissue s
3. used chiefly on soft tissue s such as brain & hear t

12. D. Dynamic Spatial Recons t ruc tion (DSR)
1. employs X-ray technology to see organ action/motion
2. me a s ur e s physiology of hear t, lungs, ves s el s; can
indicat e abnormality/deformi ty in structur e; tissue dama g e
E. Ultrasoun d (US)
1. uses high freque ncy sound waves
2. gall stone s , pelvic organs , blood flow, fetal developme n t
F. Positron Emission Tomogr a p hy (PET)
1. uses radioisotop e s such as Carbon- 11, Nitrogen- 13
2. effect s of drugs, site of molecul e s , cancer cells
3. very good at studying glucos e absorption by neurons in the brain during
certain tasks

13. G. Digital Subtr action Angiogra phy (DSA)
1. takes X-ray picture before and after adminis tr a tion of contr as t subs t a n c e
to the ves s el s
2. used to study ves s el s of the brain and hear t to help preve nt stroke s and
hear t attacks
VIII. Major Organ Systems
A. There are 12 major organ systems of the body:
1. integume nt a ry (skin)
2. skeletal (bone)
3. muscular (muscles)
4. nervous (CNS and PNS)
5. endocrine (hormone s /r egulation)

14. 6. cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels)
7. lymphatic (lymph fluid)
8. respiratory (lungs)
9. digestive (stomach, intestine)
10. urinary (kidneys, bladder)
11. reproductive (male and female genitalia)
12. immune (not really organs, cells in the blood/body)
IX. Integume nt a ry System
A. Major Compone nt s
1. skin (epidermi s, dermis, etc.)
2. hair
3. sweat and oil glands
4. sensory organs and glands
B. Major Functions
1. helps to regulat e body temper a tur e
2. protect s agains t external injury and desiccation
3. eliminate s salts and urea
4. produce s vitamin D
5. responds to temper atur e, pressur e, and pain
X. Skeletal System
A. Major Compone nt s
1. bone
2. cartilage s
3. tendons
4. ligament s
5. joints
B. Major Functions
1. provide protection for internal organs (skull, ribs)
2. provide support for body
3. mechanical advant ag e for muscular actions (levers)
4. storage of vital minerals - calcium
5. site of blood cell formation (marrow)
XI. Muscular System
A. Major Compone nt s
1. muscles of different type/function
a. striated muscle (voluntary)
b. smooth muscle (involunt ary)
c. cardiac muscle (heart)
B. Major Functions
1. striated muscle

15. a. primarily to contract on comman d
b. allows voluntary motions such as walking,
grasping, and moving in general, facial
expres sions
2. smooth muscle
a. contract s to allow involuntary motion
b. along arteries, digestive tract
3. cardiac muscle
a. contract s in rhythmic fashion involuntarily
b. propels blood through lungs and body
XII. Nervous System
A. Major Compone nt s
1. brain and spinal cord (Central Nervous System)
2. nerves and sensory organs (Peripher al N S)

16. B. Major Functions
1. detect change s in internal and external environment
2. respond to change s to keep body homeos t a tic
3. organize activities of muscles and glands
XIII. Endocrine System
A. Major Compone nt s
1. pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, pineal glands
2. ovaries, testes, pancre a s
B. Major Functions
1. maintains body homeos t a si s, growth, developme nt
2. produc e hormone s in respons e to a variety of stimuli
(increas e d sugar level, impending doom, sexual attraction, length of
day)
3. hormone s then act on target organ to cause change
XIV. Cardiovascular System
A. Major Compone nt s
1. heart
2. blood vessels (arteries, veins, capillaries)
3. blood (serum, proteins, red & white cells)
B. Major Functions
1. primarily a transport system moving blood
a. oxygen, carbon dioxide, ions (salts Na,K,Ca,Cl)
b. nutrient s and waste
c. hormone s and proteins
d. white blood cells and antibodies
XV. Lymphatic System
A. Major Compone nt s
1. lymph nodes and vessels
2. spleen
3. thymus
4. other scatter ed lymph tissue
B. Major Functions
1. location of lymphocyt e s involved in body immunity
2. remove pathoge ns and debris from blood
3. returns leaked fluid to blood vessels

17. XVI. Respiratory System
A. Major Compone nt s
1. nasal passag e s
2. pharynx, larynx, trache a, bronchi
3. lungs
B. Major Functions
1. remove carbon dioxide from blood
2. allow blood to uptake oxygen from environment
XVII. Digestive System
A. Major Compone nt s
1. oral cavity, esophag us
2. stomach
3. small and large intestine
4. rectum
5. other: teeth, salivary glands, liver, pancre a s
B. Major Functions
1. breakdown foods into minute particles to be absorbed by the blood and
delivered to body
2. remove unused foodstuff from the body as feces
XVIII. Urinary System
A. Major Compone nt s
1. kidneys
2. ureters
3. bladder
4. urethra
B. Major Functions
1. remove nitrogen- based waste molecules (urea, uric acid, ammonia) from
the blood and body
2. maintain water balance and ion/acid balanc e of blood
XIX. Reproductive System
A. Major Compone nt s
Male : testes, scrotum, penis, and duct system for sperm
Female : ovaries, uterine tubes, uterus, vagina
B. Major Functions
1. produce gamet e s (sperm and egg)

18. 2. allow means for conception to occur
3. provide environme nt for fetal developme nt
XIII. Immune System (Special)
A. Major Compone nt s
1. white blood cells and other special immune cells
B. Major Functions
1. identify foreign material and eliminate it

19. Levels of Structural Organization
Chemical level
Atoms combine to
form molecules
1
2
3
Cellular level
Cells are made up of molecules
Tissue level
Tissues consist of
similar types of
cells
4
Heart
Blood
vessels
5 Organ system level
Organ systems consist of different organs
that work together closely
Epithelial
tissue
Smooth
muscle
tissue
Organ level
Organs are made up of
different types of tissues
6 Organismal level
The human organism is
made up of many organ
systems
Molecules
Atoms
Smooth muscle cell
Smooth
muscle
tissue
Connective
tissue
Blood
vessel
(organ)
Cardiovascular
system
Figure 1.1