Study guide: Human Body and Movement

📋 Course Outline

1. Levels of Body Organization
2. Body Cavities and Spatial Terms
3. Skeletal System and Bone Types
4. Joints and Muscle Actions
5. Musculoskeletal Disorders
6. Maintaining a Healthy Skeleton
7. Immobility and Therapeutic Exercise
8. Body Mechanics and Safe Movement
9. Positions for Patients in Bed

📖 1. Levels of Body Organization

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Tissue: A group of cells with a common origin.

★ Must-know

• The listed molecular proportions are:
  • 75% water
  • 15% proteins
  • 3% lipids
  • 2% sugars
  • 2% RNA
  • 1% salts
  • other substances

📌 Prokaryotic cells lack DNA organized in a nucleus, whereas eukaryotic cells have DNA organized into chromosomes within a nuclear membrane.

📌 A system consists of organs made from the same type of tissue that perform related physiological actions, whereas an apparatus consists of body parts, tissues, and organs working together for a specific function.

Further detail

• Eukaryotic organisms include:
  • fungi
  • algae
  • plants
  • animals

• The four tissue types are:

  • epithelial tissue
  • connective tissue
  • muscle tissue
  • nervous tissue

• The digestive apparatus takes in food, absorbs nutrients, and eliminates waste; the respiratory apparatus brings air into the lungs, transfers oxygen to the blood, and removes carbon dioxide.

• The circulatory apparatus transports nutrients, oxygen, and hormones; the musculoskeletal system supports and protects the body, enables movement, and stores minerals.

• The nervous system controls body activities, the urinary apparatus cleans the blood and helps maintain water balance, the reproductive apparatus enables reproduction, and the endocrine system secretes hormones.

💡 Memory Hook

Molecules build cells, cells build tissues, and tissues and organs work together in systems and apparatuses.

📖 2. Body Cavities and Spatial Terms

★ Must-know

• The dorsal cavity comprises the cranial cavity, which contains the brain, and the spinal cavity, which contains the spinal cord.

• The thoracic cavity lies above the diaphragm and contains the lungs, heart, trachea, and major blood vessels.

• The abdominal cavity lies below the diaphragm and contains the stomach, liver, spleen, pancreas, and intestines.

📌 Proximal means nearer the trunk and distal means farther from it; medial means toward the body's midline and lateral means toward either side.

• The sagittal plane divides the body into left and right sides, the frontal or coronal plane divides front and back, and the transverse plane divides upper and lower parts.

Further detail

• The pelvic cavity lies below the abdomen and contains part of the large intestine, including the colon, sigmoid colon, and rectum, as well as the reproductive organs.

• The spatial terms mean:

  • ventral: toward the front
  • dorsal: toward the back
  • cranial: toward the head
  • caudal: away from the head
  • superficial: near the body surface
  • deep: farther from the surface

💡 Memory Hook

Dorsal protects the brain and spinal cord; thoracic and abdominal cavities lie on opposite sides of the diaphragm.

📖 3. Skeletal System and Bone Types

★ Must-know

• The skeleton supports soft tissues and organs, protects organs within body cavities, and works with joints and contracting muscles to enable movement.

• Bone marrow produces:

  • erythrocytes
  • leukocytes
  • platelets

📌 The four bone types by shape are long, short, flat, and irregular; examples include the femur, carpals, skull bones, and vertebrae, respectively.

Further detail

• The listed stored mineral salts are:
  • calcium
  • phosphorus
  • magnesium
  • sodium

📖 4. Joints and Muscle Actions

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Joint: A connection between bones or skeletal segments.
• Ligament: A band of dense connective fibers that connects bones and stabilizes a joint.
• Tendon: A white fibrous band or cord that connects a muscle to a bone.
• Muscle: A contractile organ made of fibers that produces movement.

★ Must-know

📌 Synarthroses are immovable joints, amphiarthroses allow little movement, and diarthroses or synovial joints allow extensive movement.

Further detail

• Amphiarthroses connect bones with cartilage and include joints between vertebrae and the pubic symphysis; synarthroses include skull sutures.

• Muscle action types are:

  • flexors: bend a joint
  • extensors: extend a limb
  • abductors: move an appendage away from the midline
  • adductors: move an appendage toward the midline
  • rotators: move a limb around its longitudinal axis
  • supinators: turn the palm forward
  • pronators: turn the palm backward

💡 Memory Hook

Ligaments connect bone to bone; tendons connect muscle to bone.

📖 5. Musculoskeletal Disorders

📝 Essential Points

• The listed muscle disorders or problems are:

  • fibromyalgia
  • dystrophy
  • contractures
  • tears

• The listed bone disorders are:

  • osteosclerosis
  • osteoporosis
  • osteomalacia
  • osteomyelitis
  • neoplasms

• The listed joint disorders are:

  • osteoarthritis
  • arthritis
  • herniated disc
  • adult rheumatoid arthritis
  • gout
  • dislocation
  • sprain

📖 6. Maintaining a Healthy Skeleton

★ Must-know

• The course recommends a balanced diet providing calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D, and vitamin A to support skeletal health and growth.

• An adult needs 0.01 mg of vitamin D per day, and the course lists milk, butter, cod-liver oil, and fish as sources.

Further detail

• Sunlight enables substances in the skin, including sterols, to be converted into vitamin D.

• The course says vitamin A supports cartilage activity and lists milk and dairy products, animal oils, tomatoes, and carrots as sources.

📌 To prevent posture-related deformities, keep the back straight while standing or sitting, identify and correct poor workplace posture, and use corrective exercise when appropriate.

💡 Memory Hook

Sunlight helps skin substances form vitamin D, supporting skeletal health.

📖 7. Immobility and Therapeutic Exercise

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Immobility syndrome: A reduction or loss of the ability to perform daily activities because movement functions have deteriorated.
• Range of motion: The degree of mobility a joint allows; it varies with age and physical conditioning and can be reduced by disease.

★ Must-know

• Its listed characteristics are:
  • reduced exercise tolerance
  • persistent muscle weakness
  • loss of automatic movements
  • loss of postural reflexes

📌 Mild immobility preserves autonomy for normal activities, moderate immobility makes activities difficult and requires some assistance, and severe immobility confines the person to bed and requires complete assistance.

• Consequences of bed immobility include:
  • physical: loss of strength and muscle tone, contractures, muscle atrophy, constipation, respiratory problems
  • psychological: depression, delirium, cognitive decline, acquired disability syndrome, and fear of falling
  • social: social isolation and institutionalization

Further detail

• Mobility difficulties affect 15–18% of people over 65; 53% of people over 75 have difficulty leaving home, and 20% of people over 75 do not leave home.

• Exercise helps maintain strength, muscle tone, bone density, autonomy, and self-care; prevent atrophy, contractures, osteoporosis, cardiovascular problems, and pressure ulcers; and support circulation, digestion, breathing, and elimination.

• The movement types are:

  • flexion: closing a joint angle
  • extension: opening a joint angle
  • abduction: moving away from the body axis
  • adduction: moving toward the body axis
  • rotation: turning around an axis
  • supination: turning the forearm upward
  • pronation: turning the forearm downward

📌 Exercises and physiotherapy should match the person's abilities, progress gradually with tolerance monitored, be scheduled at an appropriate time rather than after meals, and include vital-sign monitoring.

📖 8. Body Mechanics and Safe Movement

★ Must-know

• Before moving a person or object, clear the area, widen the stance, place one foot slightly forward, and lower the center of gravity by bending the knees.

• When lifting from the floor, bend the legs and keep the back straight so the leg muscles do the work rather than the back muscles.

• Turn the feet before turning the trunk, maintain proper body alignment during exertion, and obtain another person's help or use technical assistance if the task could endanger the patient or caregiver.

Further detail

📌 Contract the abdominal and gluteal muscles to stabilize the pelvis, and keep the object close to the body to bring its center of gravity closer to yours.

📌 Pushing requires less effort than lifting, and smoother surfaces reduce friction.

📖 9. Positions for Patients in Bed

★ Must-know

• Fowler's position is semi-sitting with the bed raised to 45°; high Fowler's is 90° and semi-Fowler's is 30°, and the position may help people with cardiac or respiratory problems or support eating and reading.

📌 Trendelenburg positioning places the head lower than the feet and is used for pelvic-organ treatment or situations requiring blood flow to the head; anti-Trendelenburg, or Morestin, positioning places the feet lower than the head and is used for respiratory problems or hiatal hernia.

Further detail

• Bed positions are used to facilitate examinations and treatment, prevent wounds and ulcers, and improve patient comfort.

📌 For correct positioning, keep the limbs slightly flexed, align body parts, maintain hip abduction, and use wedges, cushions, pillows, towels, or foot supports as needed.

• Supine positioning places the patient on the back with the arms and legs extended; supports may maintain alignment, raise the popliteal area or heels, preserve the lumbar curve, and prevent outward rotation of the femur.

• Prone positioning places the patient on the abdomen with the head turned to one side; it is used for back surgery recovery, examinations, bed rest, and position-change plans, with supports used to reduce pressure and lumbar hyperextension.

• Lateral positioning places the patient on one side with the back straight, arms flexed, the lower leg extended or slightly bent, and the upper leg flexed; it is used for enemas, hygiene, massage, bed rest, and position-change plans.

• Sims' position lies between prone and lateral positioning, with the lower arm extended backward, the upper arm flexed near the head, the lower leg partly flexed, and the upper leg flexed at the hip and knee; it is used for enemas, unconscious patients, and position-change plans.

• Roser's position places a supine patient's head beyond the edge of the bed and is used for nursing activities such as washing the hair; gynecological position places the patient on the back with knees bent and separated and is used for examinations, gynecological surgery, childbirth, and nursing procedures.

• Genupectoral position places the patient on the knees with the trunk inclined forward and the arms crossed beneath the head, and it is used for rectal examinations.

💡 Memory Hook

Trendelenburg lowers the head; anti-Trendelenburg lowers the feet.