Physical Address

304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124

The Autonomic Nervous System and Its Central Control

Learning Objectives Objectives Heading Upon completion of this chapter, the student should be able to answer the following questions: 1. What are the similarities and differences in the general organizations of the parasympathetic and sympathetic systems? 2. What are the respective actions of the parasympathetic and sympathetic innervation of the eye, and what symptoms arise when the parasympathetic or sympathetic innervation is lost? 3. What are…

Integrative Functions of the Nervous System

Learning Objectives Upon completion of this chapter, the student should be able to answer the following questions: 1. What is the basic layering pattern of the neocortex, and how do cortical inputs and outputs align with this layering pattern? What is the functional significance of the variation in the layering pattern between cortical areas? 2. What are the major functions of each of the lobes of…

Organization of Motor Function

Learning Objectives Upon completion of this chapter, the student should be able to answer the following questions: 1. What is a motor neuron, and how are α and γ motor neurons different? 2. What is a motor unit? How does the “size principle” apply to the orderly recruitment of motor units? 3. What is a reflex, and why are reflexes useful for clinical and scientific understanding?…

The Special Senses

Learning Objectives Objectives Heading Upon completion of this chapter, the student should be able to answer the following questions: 1. What is the dark current, and how does the absorption of a photon change it? 2. What are the synaptic pathways for the central and surround portions of the receptive field of an on-center bipolar cell? Of an off-center bipolar cell? 3. What are the receptive…

The Somatosensory System

Learning Objectives Upon completion of this chapter the student should be able to answer the following questions: 1. What are the major modalities of somatosensory information, and what are the corresponding pathways that convey each from the periphery to the primary somatosensory cortex? 2. What body regions and categories of information are the exteroceptive, proprioceptive, and enteroceptive divisions of the somatosensory system associated with? 3. What…

Synaptic Transmission

Learning Objectives Upon completion of this chapter the student should be able to answer the following questions: 1. What are the characteristics of electrical synapses? 2. What are the specializations found in the presynaptic and postsynaptic elements of a chemical synapse? 3. What sequence of events connect the arrival of the action potential at the presynaptic terminal to the entry of calcium? 4. What sequence of…

Generation and Conduction of Action Potentials

Learning Objectives Upon completion of this chapter, the student should be able to answer the following questions: 1. How is a nerve membrane's response to small-amplitude stimuli like a passive electric circuit comprising batteries, resistors, and capacitors? 2. What factors determine the time and length constants of a nerve membrane? How do these constants shape the electric responses of the nerve membrane? 3. How does an…

The Nervous System: Introduction to Cells and Systems

Learning Objectives Upon completion of this chapter the student should be able to answer the following questions: 1. What are the major cell types of the central and peripheral nervous systems? 2. What are the major components of a neuron, and what are their functional roles? 3. What are the functional roles of the major glial cell types? 4. What are the main divisions of the…

Signal Transduction, Membrane Receptors, Second Messengers, and Regulation of Gene Expression

Learning Objectives Upon completion of this chapter, the student should be able to answer the following questions: 1. How do cells communicate with each other? 2. What are the four classes of receptors, and what signal transduction pathways are associated with each class of receptors? 3. How do steroid and thyroid hormones, cyclic adenosine monophosphate, and receptor tyrosine kinases regulate gene expression? The human body is…

Homeostasis: Volume and Composition of Body Fluid Compartments

Learning Objectives Upon completion of this chapter, the student should be able to answer the following questions: 1. What is steady-state balance, and, with water balance as an example, what are the elements needed to achieve steady-state balance? 2. What are the volumes of the body fluid compartments, and how do they change under various conditions? 3. How do the body fluid compartments differ with regard…

Principles of Cell and Membrane Function

Learning Objectives Upon completion of this chapter, the student should be able to answer the following questions: 1. What organelles are found in a typical eukaryotic cell, and what is their function? 2. What is the composition of the plasma membrane? 3. What are the major classes of membrane transport proteins, and how do they transport biologically important molecules and ions across the plasma membrane? 4.…

Notes on staining techniques

Histochemical Staining Techniques Most histological stains are dyes which, when applied to tissues, form a chemical bond with proteins within the tissues. Staining tissue sections is essential to differentiate between the different cells and tissues on the slide, permitting examination by light microscopy. Many histological and pathological features can be identified using routine histological stains and by far the most commonly used is haematoxylin and eosin…

Introduction to microscopy

Preparation of a Glass Slide Histology is about looking at structure, and in this introductory section we aim to provide some guidelines to assist the absolute beginner in examining and interpreting the images in this book. Examination of any biological tissue under a microscope requires a number of preparation steps. These complex techniques are performed by highly skilled professionals known as biomedical scientists who are key…

Special sense organs

Introduction The organs of special sense are sophisticated sensory structures in which the specific neural receptors are incorporated in a non-neural structure which enhances and refines the reception of incoming stimuli. The eye and the audiovestibular apparatus of the ear are the main special sense organs, but the gustatory (taste) and olfactory (smell) receptors are usually also included in this category. Anosmia Anosmia is the clinical…

Central nervous system

The central nervous system (CNS) consists of the brain and spinal cord and is composed of neurones , neuronal processes, supporting cells of the CNS ( glial cells ) and blood vessels. The CNS is invested with meninges and is suspended in fluid, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) which is produced by specialised choroid plexus structures. Macroscopically, all parts of the CNS are made up of grey…

Female reproductive system

Introduction The female reproductive system has six major functions: Production of female gametes, the ova , by the process of oogenesis Reception of male gametes, the spermatozoa Provision of a suitable environment for the fertilisation of ova by spermatozoa Provision of an environment for the development of the fetus Expulsion of the developed fetus to the external environment Nutrition of the newborn These functions are all…

Male reproductive system

Introduction The male reproductive system is responsible for the production of spermatozoa and their delivery into the female reproductive tract and may be divided into four major functional components: The testes or male gonads, paired organs lying in the scrotal sac , are responsible for production of the male gametes, spermatozoa , and secretion of male sex hormones, principally testosterone . A system of ducts consisting…

Endocrine system

Introduction The endocrine system is responsible for the synthesis and secretion of chemical messengers known as hormones . Hormones may be disseminated throughout the body by the bloodstream, where they may act on specific target organs or affect a wide range of organs and tissues. Other hormones act locally, often arriving at their site of action by way of a specialised microcirculation. In conjunction with the…