Search results
This lecture video covers all of the topics (listed below) from the first chapter of Anatomy and Physiology. Please feel free to pause if you need to thoroug...
Departing from traditional textbooks, XBio presents biology as detective work; a bold search for knowledge, and not just its memorization. XBio is a collaboration between and. This program was supported in part by a grant to iBiology from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The Bio-Dictionary helps you to understand common terms in biology.
- Anatomy Definition
- Types of Anatomy
- History of Anatomy
- Careers
Anatomy is the branch of biology which studies how various parts of an organism are connected, and how they are related to other body parts both spatially and functionally. Anatomy has many sub-disciplines, and is used in many different fields. In general, there are two main types of anatomy: gross or macroscopic anatomy, and microscopic anatomy. H...
Macroscopic Anatomy
Commonly called gross anatomy, macroscopic anatomy involves studying the structures and forms which can be seen on organism with the naked eye. The type of organism does not matter. A botanist may study the macroscopic anatomy of a plant, such as the shape and size of its leaves. A doctor might study the proportions of his patients, measuring their weight and height. Both of these scientists are using skills of gross anatomy. Many branches of biology use gross anatomy to evaluate their subjec...
Microscopic Anatomy
While gross anatomy provided the basis for many modern sciences, modern technology has revolutionized the study of microscopic anatomy. Starting with the invention of light microscopy and carrying through modern day inventions such as the electron microscope, the inner workings of cells and organisms are becoming increasingly understood. Entire new worlds of organisms, such as bacteria and single-celled eukaryotes, have been opened up for study. Cellular biology is an entire field dedicated t...
Anatomy is a science older than science itself. The first anatomists where the first humans, categorizing and recognizing the other organisms in their environment using skills of gross anatomy. Vision is fundamental to humans, and is the basis of our understanding of the world. As we advanced in thought and organization, early thinkers began to try...
Many careers in the biological sciences require some knowledge of both gross and microscopic anatomy. Some professionals, such as a doctor, require specific anatomical knowledge of one species: humans. Human anatomy is the study of both the macroscopic and microscopic portions of the human body. Human anatomy is essential for professionals in the m...
The decorator spider crab, Inachus phalangium, in the Adriatic Sea, uses sponges as an important source of decoration material ( Martinelli et al., 2006 ). These authors recorded 14 species of sponge on this crab and aquarium observations showed that crabs actively cut sponges and place fragments on their exoskeleton.
Metabolism & thermoregulation. You may think of metabolism as something that humans have (such as a fast or a slow metabolism). But metabolism is just the sum total of chemical reactions that occur in an organism's body, and all organisms must metabolize to keep their bodies running. Learn more about metabolism and how it's connected to ...
