Instructions For Anatomy Paper
Movement in the human body is possible due to specific interactions between the nervous, muscular and
skeletal systems. For this paper, you will describe these interactions as your body goes through specific actions.
Scenario
You see a delicious cookie on the table in front of you. You decide you will try one. To do this you must:
1) Lift your arm directly in front of you to reach for the cookie – you produce movement at the shoulder
2) Grasp the cookie with your fingers and your thumb – you produce movements at the MP joints
3) Bring the cookie to your mouth – you produce movement at your elbow
Required Elements
The paper must have the following elements as you describe how getting this cookie to your mouth is possible:
1) APA Style: The paper should written in APA style, have an abstract, separate sections with headings, a
bibliography page & be properly sited. See link in blackboard for specifics
2) An Introduction: Introduce the topic by explaining the role each system plays in movement and how
these systems interact to produce movement in general (no specific movements here). The introduction
should be a thorough discussion of the topic before you get specific.
3) Motor Pathway: The specific path the nerve signal travels through the brain, spinal cord and spinal
nerves so that the conscious thought that starts in the brain “I will pick up the cookie” reaches the
muscles and causes movement at the joint. (The motor pathway as discussed in class) – This is
described only once in general, NOT for each specific movement!
4) Nerve Physiology: The mechanism by which the nerve signal is initiated in the neuron, propagated down
the axon and passed to the muscles (Nerve physiology as discussed in class)
5) Muscle Physiology: The mechanism by which the muscles are stimulated by the nerve and then contract,
including sliding filament theory (Muscle Physiology as discussed in class).
6) Descriptions of the interaction between the nerves, muscles and bones for each movement: you should
describe specifically what happens when going through movements 1-3 above. Be sure to:
a. Name the movements that occur at the joints (flexion, elevation, extension abduction etc.).
b. Name the specific nerves that stimulate the specific muscles to pull the specific bones to produce
movements you identified at the joint.
c. DO NOT LIST the bones, joints, muscles, and nerves! Name them as you describe what is
happening – how they are interacting with each other to produce movement. See example below
Example: “ There are many motor and sensory neurological pathways that combine the CNS and
PNS. In this example, in order to move any muscle or coordinate any muscle group the following neuropathway
is utilized by the nervous system……”.
“Each nerve cell conducts impulses through the following physiological processes…(elaborate in
detail)”
“At each neuromuscular junction the following occurs……(elaborate in detail)”
“each muscle contraction involves individual muscle fibers and their sarcomeres undergoing the
contraction cycle…which in includes…(elaborate in detail)”
“ To kick a ball requires flexion, followed by rapid extension at the knee. The knee is a hinge joint
formed by articulation between the medial and lateral condyles of both the femur and tibia. To flex the knee,
nerve impulses exit the spinal cord via the sacral plexus (L1 to S3) and travel down the tibial part of the sciatic
nerve. The sciatic nerve synapses with the three muscles of the hamstrings, stimulating contraction in these
muscles. The semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris make up the hamstrings on the posterior
side of the thigh. When these three muscles contract, they work together to pull the tibia and fibula back and up
toward the posterior side of the femur. This action flexes the knee, causing the condyles’ of the tibia to glide
back and upward along the condyles’ of the femur, decreasing the angle of the knee joint, and bringing the tibia
and fibula closer to the femur at the back of the thigh. Then, to kick the ball requires you to swing the lower leg
forward by extending the knee. To extend the knee…
This is the rubric that will be used to score your paper. Examine it closely to make sure you are including all
required aspects of the paper.
Rubric – Final Anatomy Paper ____ Thorough introduction pertaining to how movement is produced in the body in general, College level writing in paper (5pts)
____ Description of a general motor pathway through brain and spinal cord – thorough and correct (10 pts)
____ Nerve Physiology: (20 pts)
1. How Impulse is initiated – thorough & correct
2. How Impulse is propagated – thorough & correct
3. How impulse is transmitted – thorough & correct
____ Muscle Physiology: (20 pts)
1. How muscle is stimulated – thorough & correct
2. How stimulus causes contraction – thorough & correct
3. Contraction – Sliding filament theory – thorough & correct
____ Reach for cookie: (15 pts)
1. Movement at shoulder joint identified correctly
2. Nerves, muscles, and bones needed for the movement identified correctly
3. Description of the interaction needed for the movement thorough and correct
____ Grasp cookie: (15 pts)
1. Movement at the metacarpophalangeal joints of fingers & carpometacarpal joint of thumb identified correctly
2. Nerves, muscles, and bones needed for the movement identified correctly
3. Description of the interaction needed for the movement thorough and correct
____ Bring Cookie to mouth: (15pts)
1. Movement at elbow joint identified correctly
2. Nerves, muscles, and bones needed for the movement identified correctly
3. Description of the interaction needed for the movement thorough and correct
List of Do’s and Don’ts for the Paper
Do’s Don’ts
• Do use the rubric to verify that you have included
all required components of the paper
• Don’t lose points by leaving something out! If it
is not there, I can’t give you points.
• Do look up and verify that you are identifying the
motion at the joint correctly for the action you are
trying to complete.
• Example: What does flexion of the knee look
like? Is that the motion you make to sit down on a
bus? Verify!
• Don’t get the motions at the joint wrong. If the
motion is wrong than all the muscles and nerves
will be wrong too
• Do look up which muscles produce the movement
you have identified at the joint
• Do look up the which nerves stimulate the
muscles you have identified for that movement
• Don’t guess at the nerves and muscles needed to
produce the specific movements you have
identified – use your resources! You may need to
name some structures that were not studied in
class.
• Do write a specific description of interactions that
occur between the specific nerves, muscle and
bones when describing the motion at a joint!
How do nerves and muscles interact?
How do muscles and bones interact?
What is the role of each in movement?
Example of what to DO:
“To flex the knee, a nerve impulse passes from the
sciatic nerve to stimulate the three muscles of the
hamstrings, the semimembranosus,
semitendinosus and the biceps femoris, causing
them to contract. When these muscles contract,
they pull the tibia and fibula back and up toward
the posterior side of the femur, causing flexion at
the join.t….”
See full example of kicking a ball on instructions!
• Don’t create a list the muscles, bones and nerves
involved in a motion and think that you are done!
That is only a rough organization of the facts you
need to write a description of the interaction
between these structures. Example of what NOT
to do:
“To flex the knee involves the 3 hamstrings – the
semitendinosus, semimembranosus and biceps
femoris, the tibia, fibula and femur, and the
sciatic nerve.”
• Don’t describe the anatomy in place of how these
structures interact…. If you describe how the
knee is put together and how the muscles
attach… great… then describe how they interact.
• Do be descriptive and specific in how the bones
move at the joint – use directional terms to
distinguish between flexion, extension adduction.
Example: …the hamstrings pull the tibia and
fibula back and up toward the posterior side of
the femur, causing the medial and lateral
condyles of the tibia to glide back and up on the
condyles of the femur, flexing the knee joint….”
• Don’t just list the bones that are pulled to
describe how to “flex the knee” – explain how
they are pulled
• Don’t say the bones “flex” or “extend” the
movement occurs at the joint. A bone that flexes
or extends might snap.
• Don’t restate the movement at the joint to
describe how the bones are moved by the muscles
• Do verify that the motor pathway is complete and
correct.
• Do verify that the mechanisms for nerve and
muscle physiology is complete and correct
• Don’t leave sections out – verify accuracy
• Do follow APA style – look it up and ask
questions
• Don’t omit citations
Movement in the human body is possible due to specific interactions between the nervous, muscular and skeletal systems. For this paper, you will describe these interactions as your body goes through specific actions.
Introduction
The human body contains a number of muscles, nerves and other tissues that work together to allow us to move and interact with our environment. You might be familiar with some of these systems if you’ve ever felt goosebumps or had trouble blinking because of an allergy. But how do they work? And what can they tell us about our health? In this post we’ll look at some examples of how movement happens in the human body and discuss how we can use the information from these examples to improve our health care today!
When you yawn, what happens to your diaphragm?
When you yawn, what happens to your diaphragm?
Your diaphragm is the muscle that separates your chest from your abdomen. It contracts during inhalation and expands during exhalation. When you yawn, this muscle moves down into your chest cavity and opens up more space for air to enter into it. This allows you to take in more oxygen into your body so that it can function properly
When you sneeze, what happens to your facial muscles?
The reflexive action of sneezing involves the same muscles as when you yawn. The action starts with an inhalation, which pulls air into your lungs. Next, you exhale through your nose and throat by contracting the diaphragm muscle located in your abdomen. This causes a sudden increase in pressure inside of your body and forces air out through one nostril or both at once depending on where they are positioned on either side of this opening (called nares).
These actions then trigger another set of reflexes that involve contraction of certain muscles throughout your body:
Diaphragm: contracts downward then pushes outward against abdominal wall;
Abdominal Muscles: contract upward pushing away from rib cage;
Lower Jaw Muscle: lifts cheekbones upwards so that face looks up towards ceiling when inhaling through nostrils instead
How do the muscles in your arm help you write?
The muscles in your arm are responsible for moving your hand. These muscles connect to bones and other tissues, which help move the bones and connective tissues of your arms.
The nerves that travel through these connective tissues send signals from the brain to the muscles, telling them what to do (move). The nervous system also sends signals back to the brain so that it can tell whether or not you’re holding something close enough or far away from yourself.
When you blink, what happens to your eyelids?
Blinking is a reflex action, which means that it happens automatically. It can be controlled by the nervous system. Blinking keeps the eyes moist and free from dust and other particles.
What happens when you get goosebumps?
The arrector pili muscles, also known as the hair follicle-stimulating system or HFS, are a group of small muscles located in your armpits and groin area. They cause goosebumps when you get cold or scared. When you feel cold air on your skin, these muscles contract to expand blood vessels near the surface of your skin so that heat can be released from deeper layers (the dermis). This causes an increase in blood flow to those areas where there is more heat loss due to sweating—namely around the face and neck area.
This kind of contraction happens when people who have used products like deodorant apply them too much; this causes irritation over time because it exposes their sensitive skin directly to chemicals found in most antiperspirants/deodorants today!
Your body contains many different muscle groups and nerves that work together to help you move.
The nervous system is the control center for all body functions. It sends signals to your muscles and joints, which in turn contract to make you move. Your spinal cord runs down through your back to connect with your brain at the base of your spine. The brain then sends messages through nerves (nerve fibers) to each part of your body as needed.
Your muscles contain many muscle groups that work together to help you move:
Hip flexors – These are located on top of each thigh bone called femur; they help rotate hips inwardly while walking or running so that they face forward instead of sideways like our neighbor’s dog does when he jumps over fences!
Gluteal muscles – Lying behind bottom outer thighs, these muscles help rotate hips outwardly when walking or running so that we can see them bend backwards instead!
Conclusion
You’ve now learned all about the human body! From how muscles work together to help you move, to how the nervous system can cause you to sneeze or yawn. You may even have learned something new about your own body and how it works. Now that we’ve covered all this important information, what are you going to do with it?