Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology

Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology establishes the vocabulary and physiological principles that every later system in this certificate depends on. The course opens with anatomical terminology for location, planes, and body cavities, then examines homeostasis and the control systems that maintain it. The core of the course is membrane physiology: lipid bilayers, aquaporins, ion channels, ATPases, solute carriers, and cell signaling, building up to how ion gradients generate membrane and action potentials. From there, the course turns to two applied regulatory topics, body temperature control and acid-base balance, working through buffers, the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation, and the anion gap. Throughout, the emphasis is on mechanism: not just naming a structure or process, but explaining how it produces the physiological effect it is known for. The membrane physiology and acid-base content covered here is drawn on directly in the courses that follow, particularly in neural signaling and respiratory gas exchange.