A word to the wise: how to this guide

It is not possible to summarize an entire course in a brief study guide. My goal here is go give you material you can use to quiz yourself and jog your memory about important terms and concepts from material covered this semester. It does not cover absolutely everything and you should not consider this a replacement for studying your notes, doing study questions, or text reading.  Rather, consider it an aid to these approaches which I hope will be helpful.

Each topic is divided into two sections. The first lists important terms that we have covered. The second is a very brief listing of important concepts.
 
 

Key Terms

Q₁₀ rule

Endotherm

Ectotherm

specific metabolic rate

Key Concepts

Diffusion and major factors affecting this (DAnG)

Metabolic Rate and major factors affecting this

• body size effects (the ëmouse to elephantí curves)
• temperature effects
• endotherm/ectotherm differences

Key Terms

heterotrophs

Ingestion

Digestion

Absorption

Elimination

polymers/monomers

Digestive Tracts

Oral cavity and pharynx

peristalsis

epiglottis

Crops and Gizzards

rumen

zymogen (various specific proteins)

duodenum

amylase

lipase

small and large intestine

Pharynx and Esophagus

bile and emulsification

hepatic portal vein

Key Processes and Concepts

• Converting bulky food items into a form which can be absorbed
• The initiation of digestion for different nutrient types in different locations
• Protection of the stomach from self digestion
• specializations of the small intestine for absorption (4)
• small intestine adaptations to diet
• why is emulsification necessary?

Key Terms

Hydrostatic skeletons, Exoskeleton, Endoskeleton

Myosin

Actin

Troponin and Tropomyosin

Sarcoplasmic Reticulum (SR)

transverse tubules

neuromuscular junction

acetylcholine

tetanus

motor units

creatine phosphate

Tendons

Ligaments

Axial skeleton

Appendicular skeleton

hydroxyapatite

ossification

lacunae

canaliculi

Haversian systems
 
 

Key Processes and Concepts

• Limitations to exoskeletons
• graded contractions and summation
• motor unit recruitment
• role of ATP in muscle contraction
• muscle adaptations for power vs. endurance (muscle types and exercise effects)
• muscle characteristics (smooth, skeletal, cardiac: size, control, morphology)
• Bone functions

Key Terms

hemocoel

atria and ventricles

semilunar and atrioventricular valves

sinoatrial node, atrioventricular node

intercalated disks

ductus arteriosus, foramen ovale

Bundle of His

elastin

endothelium

Rete

Red and White blood cells

platelets and clotting
 
 

Key Processes and Concepts

• Single vs. double circulations (ancestral vs. derived in vertebrates)
• Characteristics of open vs. closed systems:phylogenetic distribution and functional characteristics
• Electrical coupling of cardiac muscle cells and role of AV node
• Adaptations to increase exchange by diffusion
• Need for and function of lymphatic system
• Blood cell formation
• Clotting cascade

Key Terms

alveoli

diaphragm muscle

air sacs

parabronchial lung

Tracheal systems/Tracheoles

spiracles

Hemoglobin/heme group

Hemocyanin
 
 
 
 

Key Processes and Concepts

• Different characteristics of Oxygen and carbon dioxide
• Types of respiration
• Countercurrent exchangers
• negative vs. positive pressure ventilation
• mammalian adaptations for ventilation
• Respiratory pigments ó why have these?
• Cooperative binding in hemoglobin - pH effects (Bohr effect), fetal adaptations
• carbon dioxide vs. oxygen transport in blood
• heat and water loss during respiration

Key Terms

inflammation

T-cells (helper and cytotoxic)

B-cells

chemokine

lysozyme

Neutrophils

Monocytes

Macrophages

Natural killer cells

CD4

CCR5

perforin
 

Key Processes and Concepts

• non-specific defenses: competition, etc.
• Fever as a defense (and other similar defensive strategies)
• Key Features of the immune system
• Origins of T and B cells
• Clonal selection and antibody diversity
• antibody structure and actions
• cell vs. antibody mediated immunity
• Memory in the immune system
• Self vs. non-self recognition
• Allergies and the IgE system
• Mechanisms of HIV action and AIDS: why is this disease so tough to fight?

Key Terms

Homeostasis

Osmoconformer

Osmoregulator

Ammonia, Urea, Uric acid

malphighian tubules

nephridia

kidneys: cortex and medulla

nephron

Glomerulus

Loop of Henle

Collecting duct

ultrafiltrate

ectotherm

endotherm

Torpor/Hibernation
 
 

Key Processes and Concepts

• Osmoregulation and Ionoregulation in seawater vs. freshwater
• Chondrichthyan (e.g., sharks) solutions to seawater life
• Types of nitrogenous wastes ó which animals and habitats is each found in?
• Kidney function: indiscriminate filtration followed by selective reabsorbtion
• Countercurrent multiplier function of Loop of Henle
• Temperature regulation mechanisms
• Evaporative cooling and water loss
• Adaptations to heat and cold (freeze tolerance, hibernation, cooling blood in hot climates, anhydrobiosis)

Key Terms

hormone

pheromone

neurosecretory cell

target cells

receptors

second messengers: cAMP, IP₃

Adenylyl cyclase

Phospholipase C

G proteins

hypothalamus

pituitary: anterior and posterior

thyroid

adrenal

LHRH/GnRH

oxytocin

vasopressin

tropic hormones (e.g., ACTH - adrenocorticotropic hormone)

portal system

Luteinizing hormone (LH)

Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)

Thyroid stimulating hormone releasing hormone (TRH)

Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)

Thyroid hormone

androgens, estrogens, progestins

Key Processes and Concepts

• Why an endocrine system?
• Characteristics of hormone actions
• Signal amplification by second messengers
• Differences between the anterior and posterior pituitary
• Negative feedback in the endocrine system

Key Terms

heterogametic vs. homogametic sex

SRY

genotypic sex determination

environmental sex determination (e.g., social, temperature)

parthenogenesis

endocrine disruptors

environmental estrogens

bioaccumulation
 

Key Processes and Concepts

• Distinguish sex determination from sexual differentiation
• Types of sex determination
• Basic female pattern of sexual development in mammals in absence of other influences

Key Terms

Neuron

Dendrite

Axon

Soma (cell body)

synapse, synaptic cleft, synaptic vesicles

Glia (Schwann cells, Oligodendrocytes, astrocytes)

myelin and myelination

Ion channels: gated and non-gated

EPSPs and IPSPs

refractory period

saltatory conduction

Central vs. peripheral nervous system

peripheral sensory vs. motor

peripheral somatic vs. autonomic (sympathetic vs. parasympathetic)

cephalization

cerebrospinal fluid

Telencephalon

Diencephalon

Mesencephalon

Metencephalon

Myelencephalon

Medulla oblongata

Cerebellum

Hypothalamus

Cerebral Cortex

Key Processes and Concepts

• Why a nervous system?
• Three phases of nervous processing: sensory input, integration, motor output
• Characteristics of neurons
• Glial cell necessity and function
• The membrane potential: how it is generated, what role specific proteins play, the critical important of passive diffusion by K⁺
• Depolarization and Hyperpolarization effects on neurons
• Action potentials: what is happening with specific proteins at each step and what role they play
• Travel of the action potential (why in only one direction?)
• Limits on conduction speed and adaptations to increase this
• Demonstrations of neurotransmitter function: what do you need to show?
• Parasympathetic vs. sympathetic autonomic effects

Key Terms

General senses: Mechanoreception, Thermoreception, Nociception

Special senses: Chemoreception: taste/smell; Photoreception: Vision; Mechanoreception:

vibration/hearing

proprioreception

Pacinian corpuscle

Muscle spindle

Somatotopic map

Key Processes and Concepts

• Receptor potential
• Intensity coding
• Adaptation
• Tactile discrimination

Key Terms

ommatidium

Vertebrate eye: Cornea, lens, retina, sclera, ciliary muscles, fovea, rods, cones

Opsins and retinal

Rhodopsin

Pigments and color vision

Key Processes and Concepts

• Creating an image like a computer (insects, crustaceans) vs. like a camera (vertebrates)
• The retina as an extension of the brain and first site of processing
• The blind spot and wiring of neurons to the retina
• Refraction and the process of accomodation
• Photoreceptor activation: rhodopsin and Na⁺ channels (what is odd about this process?)
• Visual cortex as primary site of integration

Key Terms

statocysts

statoliths

tympanum

neuromast organ

basilar and tectorial membranes

hair cell

cochlea

oval window
 
 

Key Processes and Concepts

• Amplification by the middle and external ears
• Sensory transduction by the inner ear/cochlea
• Frequency discrimination by the cochlea
• Directional information by differences in intensity and time of arrival

Key Terms

chemoreception                                                 pheromones
sensilla                                                               glomeruli (glomerulus is singular)
main olfactory system
vomeronasal system
olfactory epithelium
olfactory bulb
accessory olfactory bulb

Key Processes and Concepts

• Insect chemoreception as shown by Bombykol example
• Olfactory neurons as site of olfactory sensory transduction
• Olfactory receptors and g-protein coupled receptors
• Specificity of olfactory receptors (1 type per neuron)
• Different pathways into CNS for main olfactory vs. vomeronasal systems

Key Terms

Limbic system
Amygdala
Hypothalamus
serotonin
dopamine
reuptake inhibitors

Key Processes and Concepts

• Hypothalamus as integrative center and link between the CNS and the endocrine system
• Serotonin links to aggression, depression and sexual behavior
• Effects of altering neurotransmitter metabolism through blockage of breakdown or reuptake and long term effects of these changes
• Anterior hypothalamus and male-typical sexual behavior
• Neural sex differences (e.g., corpus callosum, anterior commissure, INAH3, suprachiasmatic nucleus)