Sunday, 4 December 2011

The skeletomuscular system

First listen to the presentation: The skeletomuscular system

1. What four tissues does a long bone consist of?

ANSWER: subchondral; cancellous; compact; marrow.

2. How many bones are there in the adult skeleton? What are the two major divisions of the skeleton and which mineral is found in bones?

ANSWER: 206; axial & appendicular; calcium phosphate.

3. Name two parts of the axial skeleton and two parts of the appendicular skeleton.

ANSWER: axial: skull, spine, ribs; appendicular: pelvis, shoulders (clavicles and scapulae); limbs.

4. Excluding the jaws and other small bones, name the four largest bones of the skull that enclose the cranium.

ANSWER: frontal; parietal; temporal; occiptal.

5. In addition to the coccyx, what are the four regions of the spine, in order, from the top?

ANSWER: cervical; thoracic; lumbar; sacral.

6. What does a joint do and name the three types?

ANSWER: allows movement (articulation) between bones; fibrous, cartilaginous, synovial.

7. In addition to the hinge joint, name four other types of synovial joint.

ANSWER: pivot; condylar; plane; ball & socket.

8. What are the four movements of an angular joint?

ANSWER: flexion; extension; abduction; adduction.

9. Name the three types of muscle; which one is also described as 'striped' or 'striated'?

ANSWER: skeletal; cardiac; smooth. Skeletal is striped or striated.

10. What are the two types of contractile protein and where are they contained? What is used in the process of contraction?

ANSWER: actin; myosin. Muscle fibre or cells. ATP/Energy.

11. Describe what happens at a neuromuscular junction.

ANSWER: An action potential is transmitted to the muscle via a motor nerve; the electrical signal is transmitted to the muscle chemically (acetyl choline) across the gap between the nerve and the muscle; an action potential is generated in the muscle; the acetyl choline is broken down and/or taken back up into the nerve ending.

12. What are the ends of a skeletal muscle called where it joins to the skeleton?  What joins the muscle to the bone and what is it made of?

ANSWER: Origin and insertion; tendon, made of collagen.

13. Which two muscles of the arm control the movement of the lower arm? How would you describe the relative position of these muscles and which one is responsible for extending the arm?

ANSWER: bicep & tricep; opposing; tricep.

Tuesday, 4 October 2011

Gastrointestinal system

First listen to the presentation: The gastrointestinal system

Structure and function of the gastrointestinal (GI) system

1. Describe the GI system.

Answer: The GI system runs from the mouth to the anus and is responsible for the digestion of food and the excretion of waste products.

2. What are the four main regions of the GI tract between mouth and anus?

Answer: oesophagus; stomach; large intestine; small intestine.

3. Name four organs/structures that are linked to the GI tract.

Answer: liver; pancreas; gall bladder; appendix.

4. Describe the peritoneum and what is the space that it encloses called?

Answer: transparent membrane; lines the abdominal cavity; carries nerves and blood vessels to viscera; peritoneal cavity.

5. What kind of muscle is found in the GI tract, how is it arranged and how is it controlled?

Answer: smooth muscle; longitudinal and circular; autonomic nervous system.

6. What is the process that moves food along the GI tract? Describe this process.

Answer: peristalsis: waves of contraction and relaxation of smooth muscle which propel food along the GI tract.

7. What is the space in the GI tract called and what is the lining of the GI tract called? What are the two functions of  the lining?

Answer: lumen; mucosa. Secretory and absorbtive.

8. Name the three pairs of salivary glands. What is the MAIN function of saliva?

Answer: parotid; sumandibular; sublingual. Lubrication of food.

9. What is mastication? In addition to saliva what other parts of the mouth are involved? What is the end product of mastication?

Answer: chewing. Tongue & teeth. Bolus of food.

10. What are the muscles of mastication? Which joint is involved and what is unique about it?

Answer: masseter & temporalis. Temperomandibular joint; allows movement in three planes.

11. In the process of swallowing, which tube does the bolus of food enter on its way to the stomach?  Which tube is protected by the epiglottis and what is the epiglottis? How is the bolus of food moved to the stomach?

Answer: the oesophagus. The trachea. a flap of cartilage. Peristalsis.

12. What are the functions of the stomach?

ANSWER: it acts as a reservoir; it completes the mechanical breakdown of food; it secretes hydrochoric acid; it produced chyme.

13. What are the three muscle layers of the stomach and what are the convolutions on the inner surface of the stomach called?

ANSWER: circular; longitinal; oblique; rugae.

14. In addition to gastrin and intrinsic factor what other three things are produced by the gastric pits and what is setreted by the gastric pits?

ANSWER: mucous; hydrochloric acid; pepsin. Parietal cells produce hydrochloric acid.

15. State the three regions of the small intestine in the correct order.

ANSWER: duodenum; jejunum; ileum.

16. What are the functions of the small intestine?

ANSWER: it mixes food by segmentation; it propels food by persitalsis; it secretes digestive enzymes and mucous; it absorbs nutrients.

17. What features of the lining of the small intestine provide it with a large surface area? What are the three groups of enzymes (ie in terms of what they digest) that are secreted into the small intestine?

ANSWER: villi; protein digesing, carbohydrate digesting, fat digesting enzymes.

18. Where do pancreatic secretions enter the duodenum? In addition to sodium bicarbonate what digestive enzymes are produced by the pancreas?

ANSWER: the ampulla of Vater; trypsin, amylase and lipase.

19. Where is bile made? What does the gall bladder do? Where is bile released into the duodenum? What does bile do?

ANSWER: liver; stores and concentrates bile; ampulla of Vater; emulsifying agent.

20. Describe digestion.

ANSWER: a process of breaking large molecules into smaller ones which can be absorbed from the intestine and used in metabolism.

21. What do enzymes do? What are the three phases of digestion?

ANSWER: they act as catalysts for biological reactions; cephalic, gastric, intestinal.

22. What are the three phases of digestion - in the correct order?

ANSWER: cephalic; gastric; intestinal.

23. What is mainly reabsorbed in the large intestine and what are the three major regions of the large intestine?

ANSWER: Water; ascending, transverse and descending colon.

24. What are the three types of movement in the large intestine and which bacterium is mainly found here?

ANSWER: peristalsis; haustral churning; mass movement. E coli.

25. Describe the structure and function of the internal and external anal sphincters.

ANSWER: internal - smooth muscle and involuntary; external - skeletal muscle and voluntary.

Sunday, 4 September 2011

The Respiratory System

Please listen to my articulate presentation: The Respiratory System


1. In terms of the structures that air passes through as you breathe in, put the following in the correct order: lungs; nasal cavity; bronchi; trachea.

Answer: nasal cavity; trachea; bronchi; lungs

2. What are the two phases of activity in the lungs? Which structures does air pass through after the bronchi? What are the functional units of the lungs?

Answer: insipration; expiration; bronchioles; alveoli.


3. What is the major constituent of air? Which constituent of air is accumulated in the blood at the alveoli? Which constituent of air is removed from the blood at the alveoli? What is the exchange of these constituents called?

Answer: nitrogen; oxygen; carbon dioxide; respiration.

4. What happens at inspiration?

Answer: the diaphragm descends & the rib cage rises; pressure inside thorax falls; lungs expand; air enters lungs.

5. Describe the structure of the alveoli. By what process is oxygen and carbon dioxide exchanged at the alveoli?

Answer: small sacs; single cell layer; close proximity to pulmonary capillaries; diffusion.

Sunday, 21 August 2011

The renal system

First listen to the presentation: The renal system


1. Describe the position and composition of the kidneys

Answer: The kidneys are a pair of organs situated in the retroperitoneum; they are composed of a cortex and a medulla.

2. What vessels are attached to the kidneys? What fraction of the cardiac output goes to the kidneys?

Answer: renal artery, renal vein, ureters; 25%.


3. What three functions does the kidney undertake and in what order?

Answer: filtration, secretion and reabsorbtion.

4. What are the functional units of the kidneys? Name the regions of this functional unit.

Answer: nephrons; Bowman's capsule, ascending and descending limbs, loop of Henle.

5. Describe the glomerulus.

Answer: the glomerulus is a system of arterial capillaries inside the Bowman's capsule with an afferent vessel and an efferent vessel.

6. Describe what happens at the glomerulus.

Answer: blood enters via the afferent vessel and leaves via the efferent vessel; water and solutes leave the blood and enter the Bowman's capsule; blood cells and blood proteins are retained in the blood.

7. Name four things that are secreted into the nephron.

Answer: hydrogen ions, potassium ions, ammonia, drugs and toxins.

8. Name four things that are reabsorbed into the blood at the nephron.

Answer: water, sodium ions, vitamins, nutrients (eg sugar).

Urinary bladder and micturition

9. Describe the urinary bladder. What is the major difference in males and females?

Answer: reservoir composed of smooth muscle, two ureters enter and the urethra leaves. The female urethra is shorter than the male urethra.

10. Describe normal micturition.

Answer: bladder fills to ~250ml; stretch receptors sense filling; internal sphincter relaxes spontaneously; external sphincter can be relaxed voluntarily.