Activity 1
Anatomy and Physiology Subspecialties
Bien Troy B. Torres
Anatomy as well as physiology have several subspecialties. Can you identify these subspecialties and explain what they specifically study?
Anatomy
- EMBRYOLOGY - It studies the first 8 weeks of development after fertilization.
- DEVELOPMENT BIOLOGY - It studies the complete development of an individual from fertilization to death.
- CELL BIOLOGY - It studies the cellular structure and functions.
- SURFACE ANATOMY - It studies surface marks in order to understand internal anatomy through physical observations and palpation.
- GROSS ANATOMY - It studies the body parts that are visible to the naked eye.
- SYSTEMATIC ANATOMY - It studies structure of different systems of the body such as the nervous system.
Physiology
- NEUROPHYSIOLOGY - It studies the functional properties of nerve cells.
- ENDOCRINOLOGY - It studies and individual's hormones and how it controls bodily functions.
- CARDIOVASCULAR PHYSIOLOGY - It studies the functions of the heart and blood vessels.
- IMMUNOLOGY - It studies how an individual's body defends itself from diseases.
- RENAL PHYSIOLOGY - It studies the functions of the kidneys.
- PATHOPHYSIOLOGY - It studies functions that is related to disease and aging.
Can you give your own example on how a structure of a body part is related to its function?
One example would be the mouth. The mouth is part of the digestive system and it instigates its process by first breaking down the food in the mouth, then it will pass the esophagus for it to reach the stomach.