BIOL-2220 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Serous Fluid, Integumentary System, Mediastinum
26 Dec 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Levels of structural organization: the simplest level of the structural hierarchy is the chemical level. At this level, atoms combine to form molecules. Molecules, in turn, associate in specific ways to form organelles. Cells are the smallest units of living things: tissue level is the second level, and tissues are groups of similar cells that have a common function. Maintaining life: every living organism must maintain its boundaries so that its internal environment remains distinct from the external environment surrounding it. The body as a whole is enclosed and protected by the integumentary system: movement includes the activities promoted by the muscular system. On the cellular level, the muscle cell"s ability to move by shortening is more precisely called contractility: responsiveness is the ability to sense changes in the environment and respond to them. It includes breaking down substances into their simpler building blocks, synthesizing more complex cellular structures from simpler ones, and using nutrients and oxygen to produce atp.
