The urinary system has many functions including the following: regulation of glucose levels, blood volume, blood pressure and pH. Also produces hormones and excretion of waste and foreign substances. The kidneys do a major part of the work in the urinary system. The blood flow of the kidneys starts at the renal arteries. From there the renal artery divides into several segmental arteries. Then the segmental arteries goes into the interlobar arteries and then to the arcualte arteries. These arteries divide and make interlobular arteries. These arteries enter the renal cortex and branch into afferent arterioles.
The kidneys are important and we have are lucky to have two of them. We can live with one if we have to. A kidney transplant is one of the few organs that can be taken from a live donner. This is incredible to be able to help someone else and still live to do it.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The Digestive System
The digestive system starts with the gastrointestinal tract, also called the alimentary canal. This canal starts at the mouth and ends at the anus. The functions of the digestive system are: ingestion, secretion, mixing, digestion, absorption, and defecation. There are four layers of the alimentary canal. The first later is the mucosa layer that is made of simple c. epithelium. This layer is avascular and the cells in this area are constantly being replaced. The second layer is the submucosa layer. This layer is highly vascular and is made of dense irregular connective tissue. The third layer is the muscularis. This layer consist of the circular and longitual layers. This is made of smooth muscle. The last layer is serosa which is made of areolar connective tissue and is also highly vascular.
Most of us eat on a daily basis and the digestive system is working all the time. Could you imagine having Achalasia? Your probably thinking what in the world is that. Achalasia is a muscular disorder in the esophagus. This disorder makes it very difficult to swallow and sometimes your food does not even reach your stomach. I am thankful that I do not have this. It would make it very difficult to eat.
Most of us eat on a daily basis and the digestive system is working all the time. Could you imagine having Achalasia? Your probably thinking what in the world is that. Achalasia is a muscular disorder in the esophagus. This disorder makes it very difficult to swallow and sometimes your food does not even reach your stomach. I am thankful that I do not have this. It would make it very difficult to eat.
Blood And The Heart
Last time we talked about the importance of blood and the process of blood clotting. Now we are going to take a look at blood flow through the heart. This includes two pathways: the pulmonary circuit and the systemic circuit. The pulmonary circuit circulates blood through the heart and into the lungs. The systemic circuit circulates blood through the heart only. The pulmonary circuit starts at eh right atrium, goes through the tricuspid valve, and into the right ventricle. From here the blood goes through the pulmonary semilunar valve and through the pulmonary trunk into the right and left pulmonary arteries. Then the blood reaches the lungs. They systemic circuit starts in the left atrium, goes through the bicuspid valve, and into the left ventricle. From there the blood goes through the aortic semilunar valve and into the aorta.
The blood flow to the heart is an important subject for me to understand because of my mother. Just recently she was in the hospital because the blood was pumping faster in the atrium then in the ventricle. This gave her a "flutter" in her chest, also known as atrial fibrillation.
The blood flow to the heart is an important subject for me to understand because of my mother. Just recently she was in the hospital because the blood was pumping faster in the atrium then in the ventricle. This gave her a "flutter" in her chest, also known as atrial fibrillation.
Blood
Blood is one of the easiest parts of the body to donate. Blood transports oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, and waste through the body. Blood also regulates your body temperature and is important in blood clotting. The process of blood clotting is also called hemostasis. This starts with vasocontriction of the damaged blood vessels. Then the platelets form a "plug" over the wound. This is activated by fibrin prothrombinase. This changes into thronbin which forms the blood clot.
This blood clotting process is important to all of us. If anyone loses too much blood, they can eventually die. If you have ever had a large cut, you know the blood will clot and dry up. This is what is supposed to happen. Without this process we would lose to much blood.
This blood clotting process is important to all of us. If anyone loses too much blood, they can eventually die. If you have ever had a large cut, you know the blood will clot and dry up. This is what is supposed to happen. Without this process we would lose to much blood.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Week 9
There are four blood types: A, B, AB, and type O. Type A blood has A antigens on the surface of the red blood cells and has an anti-B antibody in the plasma. Type B blood is just the opposite with B-antigens on the surface and anti-A antibody in the plasma. Type AB blood has both A and B antigens on the surface and no antibodies in the plasma. Type O blood has no antigens but have both anti A and anti B antibodies. There are also Rh antigens, if someone has these they are Rh positive and if they do not they are Rh-. Knowing these blood types are important for donating and receiving blood.
A women who is Rh negative and is with a male who is Rh positive and is thinking about a child, they want to take precautions. During birth the blood will mix from the baby and the mother, this will cause the mother to develop Rh antibodies. If she does not have a Rhogan shot within 48 hours after the first child, she will develop these antibodies. When she is pregnant with the second child, this will cause clumping of the blood cells and the newborn will be oxygen deprived. This is know as hemolytic disease of the newborn.
A women who is Rh negative and is with a male who is Rh positive and is thinking about a child, they want to take precautions. During birth the blood will mix from the baby and the mother, this will cause the mother to develop Rh antibodies. If she does not have a Rhogan shot within 48 hours after the first child, she will develop these antibodies. When she is pregnant with the second child, this will cause clumping of the blood cells and the newborn will be oxygen deprived. This is know as hemolytic disease of the newborn.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Week 8
This week we learned about the second messenger system and its two pathways. There is the cAMP pathway and the PKC pathway. These pathways are much easier to understand through diagrams instead of words. We also went over protein and steroid hormones. There are many differences between the two. The role of the steroid hormone is to make new protein hormones where as the protein hormone causes the hormones to deactivate and activate their activities. Steroid hormones when traveling through the blood have to be connected with a transport protein. This is the case because a steroid hormone is non-polar. This process takes longer than a protein hormone but has a longer half-life. Protein hormones travel through blood. Protein hormones might travel faster but they also have a shorter half-life and degrade fast.
There is a disorder know as the hypersecretion disorder. This is when there is more of a hormone being secreted than necessary in the gland. This is caused by the tropic hormone. There is also hyposecretion where not enough hormone is being produced to function properly. These disorders can be caused by genetics, our diets, or infections. So take care of your body and eat healthy.
There is a disorder know as the hypersecretion disorder. This is when there is more of a hormone being secreted than necessary in the gland. This is caused by the tropic hormone. There is also hyposecretion where not enough hormone is being produced to function properly. These disorders can be caused by genetics, our diets, or infections. So take care of your body and eat healthy.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Week 7
This week we started to learn about the endocrine system. What an interesting topic to go over. It effects our bodies in many ways. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is produced in the anterior pituitary, by the adrenal cortex. The function on ACTH is to regulate cortizine levels in your body. Antidiuretic hormione (ADH) is produced in the hypothalamus, by the kidney tubules. ADH retains urine and lowers the frequency volume so you stay hydrated. Some other hormones include thyroxine, aldosterone and growth hormones. We also went over steroidal hormones and how they get into the blood. Next week we will go more in depth on this.
Have you ever had any type of shot involving cortizone? This will regulate your levels if you are not producing enough on your own. Have you heard the saying " too much of a good thing is actually a bad thing"? Having too much cortizone is also a bad thing. This will depress your immune system.This will make you more prone to bacteria and germs that cause you to become sick.
Have you ever had any type of shot involving cortizone? This will regulate your levels if you are not producing enough on your own. Have you heard the saying " too much of a good thing is actually a bad thing"? Having too much cortizone is also a bad thing. This will depress your immune system.This will make you more prone to bacteria and germs that cause you to become sick.
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