Anatomy and Physiology 1 (A&P I)

Explore the cell's structure and function, from the plasma membrane's phospholipid bilayer and cholesterol to transport proteins, and relate cell theory to eukaryotic cells and organelles.

Explore how the plasma membrane governs transport via diffusion, facilitated diffusion, osmosis, and active and vesicular mechanisms, including primary and secondary active transport, endocytosis, and exocytosis.

Map the cytoplasm’s scaffolding with microfilaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules. Trace the path from rough ER to Golgi and secretory vesicles, plus detox and digestion by peroxisomes, lysosomes, and proteasomes.

Phagocytosis recruits neutrophils, macrophages, dendritic cells, and B cells to infection, attaching to bacteria, engulfing them, digesting contents, and presenting antigens on the cell surface.

Discover how mitochondria generate ATP from glucose through glycolysis, the prep reaction, and the citric acid cycle, then drive electron transport and ATP synthesis.

Discover how DNA is stored as chromosomes in the nucleus and how genes follow the central dogma from DNA to RNA to protein, with mitochondria, chloroplasts, and plasmids.

Explore how DNA replication forms two DNA molecules through a helicase-driven replication fork with leading and lagging strand synthesis, RNA primers, and DNA polymerases in a semi-conservative process.

Explore transcription: how DNA becomes messenger RNA in the nucleus via initiation, elongation, and termination. See how post-transcriptional modifications—the five prime cap, poly a tail, and splicing—prepare mRNA for translation.

Translate in the cytoplasm by ribosomes reading messenger RNA with transfer RNAs, assembling amino acids into proteins via peptide bonds at the P, A, and E sites.

Explore how eukaryotic cells divide by mitosis within the cell cycle, duplicating DNA in S phase, then distributing chromosomes via spindle fibers and cytokinesis to yield two daughter cells.

Study meiosis as a reduction division that halves chromosome number from 46 to 23, enabling fertilization to form a 46-chromosome zygote, with crossing over producing genetic variability.

Explore the four tissue types—epithelium, connective tissue, muscle, and nervous tissue—and how embryonic germ layers shape their development, with focus on cell junctions and basement membrane.

Explore epithelial tissue across shapes and arrangements, from simple squamous and cuboidal to stratified, transitional, and pseudostratified, highlighting absorption, secretion, and filtration in organs like lungs, kidneys, and trachea.

Explore connective tissue types, their cells, fibers, and ground substance, and how loose areolar and adipose, dense, cartilage, bone, and blood form distinct extracellular matrices for support, protection, and transport.

Examine skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle tissues, highlighting voluntary control, striations, and nuclei, and their roles in moving limbs, coordinating the heart, and regulating vessels and organs.

Explore nervous tissue from the brain to nerves, outlining neuron structure—cell body, dendrites, axon—and how the sodium-potassium pump creates membrane potential for electrical communication and signaling to other cells.

Identify the four membrane types—cutaneous, mucous, serous, and synovial—and explore their epithelial layers, connective tissue, and roles in protection, friction reduction, and organ coverage.

Initiate inflammation-driven repair by recruiting cells and forming a scab to seal the wound. Promote collagen deposition by fibroblasts to bridge gaps while epithelial cells migrate for tissue repair.

Explore how the epidermis protects the body, regulates temperature, and conveys cutaneous sensations, and learn the layered structure—from basal keratinocytes to the corneum, including keratin, melanin, and Langerhans cells.

Examine the epidermis and dermis, including keratinocytes and melanocytes, the five epidermal layers, dermal papillae, and pigments like melanin, hemoglobin, and carotene shaping skin color.

Explore epidermal and dermal wound healing, contact inhibition, inflammatory and migratory phases, scar formation, and skin cancers including basal, squamous, and melanoma.

Explore how bones are living, remodeling tissues that support, protect, store minerals and triglycerides, and enable movement, while detailing bone types, anatomy, and the roles of osteoblasts, osteocytes, and osteoclasts.

Examine bone microstructure, including compact and spongy bone and osteons with concentric and interstitial lamellae. See how osteoblasts and osteocytes in lacunae drive bone formation via endochondral and intramembranous ossification.

Explore how bones grow in length via growth plates and widen through remodeling, detailing the zones of the growth plate, bone remodeling balance, nutrients, hormones, and common fracture repair.

Investigate calcium homeostasis and bone remodeling, including parathyroid hormone and calcitonin actions, vitamin d activation, and how aging and exercise affect bone density and common bone diseases.

Explore the structural and functional classifications of joints, including fibrous, cartilaginous, and synovial joints, their capsules, ligaments, discs, bursae, and the role of synovial fluid.

Explore movement types at synovial joints, including gliding, flexion and extension, abduction and rotation, and opposition. Identify factors affecting motion such as joint structure, ligament tension, muscle tension, and injury.

Examine key synovial joints from the temporomandibular to the knee, noting articular capsules, menisci, cartilage, and ligaments such as ACL, PCL, MCL, and LCL.

Explore hip and knee arthroplasty options, including partial and total replacements, and learn how aging relates to osteoarthritis, dislocations, bursitis, tendinitis, Lyme-related arthritis, and exercise for joint health.

Explore skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle anatomy and function, including voluntary and involuntary control, auto rhythm, interpolated discs, sphincters, heat generation, and energy transformation.

Explore the structure of skeletal muscle from epimysium to endomysium, detailing fascicles, myofibers, actin and myosin, and how capillaries, ATP, and nutrition drive contraction.

Explore bioelectricity at the neuromuscular junction, detailing resting membrane potential, acetylcholine release, calcium signaling, and contraction via troponin-tropomyosin and actin-myosin cross-bridges.

Connects nerve impulses to muscle contraction by detailing action potentials at the neuromuscular junction, calcium-triggered troponin-tropomyosin shift, cross-bridge cycling, and sarcomere shortening.

Explore muscle metabolism from creatine phosphate and glycolysis to aerobic respiration, fatigue factors, recovery, and how motor units and tetanus shape muscle tension.

Examine cardiac and smooth muscle tissues, highlighting autorhythmicity, intercalated discs with desmosomes and gap junctions, calcium-driven contraction, and smooth muscle calmodulin activated myosin light chain kinase.

Discover how nervous tissue forms the master control system, linking neurons through afferent input, brain and spinal cord integration, and efferent motor output, with CNS and PNS divisions.

Explore neuron structure and function, from dendrites and cell body with Nissl bodies to axon hillock and myelin, including nodes of Ranvier, axon terminals, and structural and functional classifications.

Explore the resting membrane potential in neurons, driven by the sodium-potassium ATPase and ion channels, and understand graded potentials versus all-or-none action potentials.

Understand how graded potentials in dendrites determine if an action potential starts at the axon trigger zone, and how depolarization, threshold, refractory periods, myelination, and axon diameter shape conduction velocity.

Explain electrical synapses via gap junctions and chemical synapses with calcium-triggered neurotransmitter release, receptor binding, and postsynaptic potentials that sum to decide an action potential.

Classify neurotransmitters by function into excitatory and inhibitory, direct versus indirect actions, and neuromodulators, with acetylcholine and norepinephrine as examples. Describe ionotropic versus metabotropic receptors and serial, parallel, reverberating circuits.