What Is Alzheimers and How Does It Affect the Brain? Essay examples

Submitted By morenita0316
Words: 1097
Pages: 5

Anatomy, which means "a cutting open," is the study of internal and external structure of the physical relationships between body parts. Physiology, is the study of how living organisms perform their vital functions. (Martini/Bartholomew, 2013, p. 3) The connection between anatomy and physiology is easy to see. While anatomy teaches us about the physical and chemical structure of organs and organ systems, physiology teaches us how these organs and organ systems work. Thus these two branches of biology should be learned and understood alongside each other. The umbilicus region is superior to the pelvic region, while the femoral region is proximal to the pedal region. Negative and positive feedback is needed to maintain homeostasis. While negative feedback is an automatic response that opposes or corrects the original stimulus. For example if our body temperature rises above normal our body produces sweat to cool us off, thus correcting the situation. Meanwhile positive feedback produces a response that reinforces that stimulus. When delivering a baby the cervix begins to contract, it will continue to contract until the baby is born. If positive feedback was used for thermoregulation our body temperature would rise instead of fall. PH is the measure of hydrogen concentration in a solution. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is neutral. A pH less than 7 is acidic. A pH greater than 7 is basic. It measures the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution. Low pH corresponds to high hydrogen ion concentration and vice versa. A substance that when added to water increases the concentration of hydrogen ions(lowers the pH) is called an acid. A substance that reduces the concentration of hydrogen ions(raises the pH) is called a base. Finally some substances enable solutions to resist pH changes when an acid or base is added. Such substances are called buffers.
All of our body fluids are not the same pH. Stomach juice is made up of Hydrochloric acid (HC1). Acid in any substance that breaks apart in solution to release hydrogen ions. The stomach produces this powerful acid to assist in the breakdown of food. The pH in blood on the other hand varies from 7.35-7.45 making it a weak base. A weak base does not dissociate completely in a solution. (Martini/Bartholomew, 2013a, p. 37). Our body pH is very important because pH controls the speed of our body's biochemical reactions. It does this by controlling the speed of enzyme activity as well as the speed that electricity moves through our body. The higher (more alkaline) the pH of a substance or solution, the more electrical resistance that substance or solution holds. Therefore, electricity travels slower with higher pH. (http://biomedx.com/microscopes/rrintro/rr1.html, paragraphs 3 & 4) How variations in pH affect our physiology are as follows. If the pH of blood falls below 7 it can produce a comma, and if the pH rises above 7.8 it causes uncontrollable, sustained muscular contractions. (Martini/Bartholomew, 2013b, p. 36) The plasma membrane is composed of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates. Active and passive transport are biological processes that move oxygen, water and nutrients into cells and remove waste products. Active transport requires chemical energy because it is the movement of biochemicals from areas of lower concentration to areas of higher concentration. Examples of active transport are endocytosis, exocytosis, membrane pumps, sodium pump, glucose in intestines and mineral ions in plant roots. Passive transport moves biochemicals from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration so it does not require energy. diffusion; osmosis; facilitated diffusion, Alveoli of lungs and kidneys are examples of passive transport. (http://www.diffen.com/difference/Active_Transport_vs_Passive_Transport) Damaged mitochondria release apoptotic factors, which act as signals to induce cell death. It can affect our nervous system for example. A person may exhibit