The Cardiovascular System: Blood Vessels
Blood Vessels are often compared to a system of pipes with liquid circulating in them, but this analogy is only a starting point. Unlike pipes, blood vessels are extremely dynamic structures that...
View ArticleDigestive System: Histology of the Alimentary Canal
The Alimentary Canal In a recent article titled “Digestive System Overview“, we discussed the six processes of digestion. We also discussed the two main divisions of the digestive system, organs within...
View ArticleThe Lymphatic System
The lymphatic system returns fluids that have leaked from the blood (vascular system) back to the blood. Without it, our cardiovascular and immune systems would begin to shut down. The lymphatic system...
View ArticleCell Theory: The Cellular Basis of Life
Cell Theory In the late 1600’s, an English scientist named Robert Hook was the first to observe plant cells with a crude microscope. Then, almost a century and a half later, in the 1830’s two German...
View ArticleThe Plasma Membrane: Structure
Plasma Membrane The flexible plasma membrane defines the barrier of a cell by separating two of the body’s major fluid compartments – the intracellular fluid within cells and the extracellular fluid...
View ArticleCell Junctions
Cell Junctions Although certain cell types – blood cells, and some immune system cells – move freely in the body, many others are packed into tight communities. Typically, three factors act to bind...
View ArticleSkeletal Cartilages
Along with its bones, the skeleton contains resilient cartilages, and although the major focus of this category is skeletal structure and bone tissue, we will briefly discuss the three main skeletal...
View ArticleFunction and Classification of Bones
The human skeleton contains 206 known bones and because of its sheer scope, a classification system had to be invented. Typically, bones are classified into four categories by shape: long, short, flat,...
View ArticleMuscle Mechanics: Fascicle Arrangement
How do muscles work? Picture a hand-woven quilt full of strong fibers that have different shapes, sizes, and elasticities. The fibers may converge toward a single point, or run parallel with other...
View ArticleLever Systems: Bone-Muscle Relationships
How do our bones and muscles work? What makes movement possible? These are just a few questions you may find yourself thinking about now and again, and although these questions cant be answered in a...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....