LIMBA ENGLEZĂ

Anul II

Note de seminar
- Semestrul al II-lea -

Universitatea de Ştiinţe Agronomice şi Medicină Veterinară – Bucureşti

Facultatea de Agricultură
 Specializarea Biologie
- 2020 -
UNIT 1
ORGANS AND ORGAN SYSTEMS

The body of an animal consists of several organ systems, each specialized by structure and
function to perform some essential physiological process such as digestion, circulation, etc.
These systems are integrated to work harmoniously with each other. Each system is composed
of several organs, which individually perform some part of the general function: in the
digestive system, the mouth is for food taking, the stomach for storage and digestion and so
on. An organ, in turn, is formed of several layers or parts known as tissues, each tissue being
composed of many microscopic cells, usually of like kind. The wall of the stomach contains
four principal tissue layers, including digestive and gland cells, muscle cells, connective
tissues and others. The many substances comprising the cells are known collectively as
protoplasm.
Body covering. In higher animals, the body covering is a skin, or integument,
consisting of an outer epidermis over an underlying derma that contains blood vessels, nerves
and pigment. The land vertebrates have a stratified epidermis of several cell layers. The
outermost layer becomes hardened, or cornified, as a more resistant covering and is
continually renewed by the growth of new layers from the base of epidermis. On reptiles,
birds and mammals, the cornified part is dry and tougher, the better to resist wear in dry
environments. Birds are covered by feathers; these are dry, non-living cornified products of
the epidermis that insulate the body, provide streamlined exterior contours of bodily form, and
make the broad surfaces of wings and tails used for flight.
The skin of mammals is covered by hairs, another type of cornified epidermal product,
also serving for insulation. Both feathers and hair are replaced periodically by moult of the
old and growth of new coverings.
Only the birds and mammals with their heat-conserving body covering are ’warm-
blooded’, with regulated body temperature. All other animals are ’cold-blooded’, their body
temperatures are essentially at those of the environments in which they live. The human skin
resembles that of other animals but is scantily haired on most parts.
Evaporation of the watery perspiration secreted by the sweat glands helps to regulate
the body temperature in hot environments.

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 Other cornified epidermal products include the horns of cattle and sheep, the claws,
nails, hoofs and horny pads on the feet of various vertebrates, the beak and shank coverings
on birds. Cornified materials are all highly insoluble proteins (keratins) that are quite resistant
to wear and chemical disintegration.

THE SKELETAL SYSTEM

The firm framework, or skeleton, gives physical support and protection for the body and often
provides surfaces for the attachment of the muscles. Parts of the skeleton form limbs that
serve as levers in locomotion. In such cases there is a close mutual relation of structure and
function between the skeletal parts and muscles, whereby their interaction is more efficient.
Although there are many differences in the size and form of component parts and in
the presence or absence of certain elements, the essential features in a land vertebrate skeleton
are the same. The skeleton supports the body, provides for the attachment of muscles, and
houses the brain and nerve tube. The skeleton consists of cartilage in the embryos of all higher
vertebrates, but in the adults it is largely made of bone with cartilage over joint surfaces and
in a few other places. The skeletal parts increase gradually in size by growth at the ends or
margins.
The first skeletal element to appear is a slender unsegmented and gelatinous rod, the
notochord, that extends along the body axis between the digestive system and the nerve cord.
It is later surrounded and supplanted by the ’backbone’, or spinal column, of separate
vertebrae. On the centrum of each vertebra is a dorsal neural arch to enclose the nerve tube.
The centrum bears a pair of transverse processes as points of attachment for the ribs. At either
end of the centrum are two articular processes by which one vertebra may turn sideways on
those directly before and behind.
The vertebral column is the fundamental part of the skeleton. It consists of a chain of
unpaired, irregular bones which extends from the skull to the end of the tail. The column is
subdivided into five regions, which are named according to the part of the body in which the
vertebrae are situated. Thus, the vertebrae are designated as cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral,
and caudal. The number of vertebrae in a given species is fairly constant in each region except
the last: the caudal vertebrae are reduced in man and birds.
The ribs are elongated curved bones which form the skeleton of the lateral thoracic
wall. They are arranged in pairs which correspond in number to the thoracic vertebrae. The
sternum or breastbone is a median segmented bone which completes the skeleton of the
thorax ventrally.

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 Land vertebrates have two pairs of limbs and these are supported by the pectoral and
pelvic girdles. Each limb ends in five toes or digits. The component bones of the girdles and
limbs are homologous in different vertebrates, although variously modified as a result of
adaptation to special modes of life. Reduction in number of the toes occurs in many
mammals, the horse being an extreme case, with only one functional toe on each foot.
The term skull is usually understood to include all the bones of the head. The head
consists of the cranium and the face, and it is therefore convenient to divide the bones into
cranial and facial groups. The cranial bones enclose the brain with its membranes and vessels,
and the essential organs of hearing. They join the facial bones in forming the orbital and nasal
cavities, in which the peripheral organs of sight and smell are situated.
The facial bones form the skeleton of the oral and nasal cavities, and also support the
pharynx, larynx, and the root of the tongue. Most of the skull bones are flat, and only two
form permanent movable joints with other parts of the skull. The other bones form immovable
sutures, most of which disappear with age.

Make up words from the following nouns:

articulation .......inarticulate ; articulator..........................................
cartilage ......cartilaginous...............................................
column .....columnist...................................................................................
cranium ......crania ; cranioschisis.........................................................
disintegration ........disintegrator..................................................................
epidermis ...epidermal ; epidermalization.....................................................
face .....faceless ; facade.......................................................................
interaction .....interact.........................................................................
pelvis .... pelves....................................................................................
physiology .....physiological........................................................................................
resistance ....resistless.............................................................................................
stratum ....stratify........................................................................................
thorax .......thoracic...................................................................
vertebra .......vertebrates............................................................................

Find synonyms for the following words:

caudal ....rear ; back ; posterior....................................................
contour ...defines ; lines ; surronds ...................................................................

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 digit ..........extremities ; fingers ; thumbs.......................
integument .....skin ; protective covering ; membrane ............................................
layer ....... surface; screen ; encase..........................................................
permanent .....immutable; set in, settled; secured; ......................................
skull ......cranium; scalp; head........................
sternum ..breastbone; breastplate; .............................
wide .....ample; spread; vast .........

Find antonyms for the following words:

capable .......incapable ; inept ; ineffective......................................
conspicuous ...concealed; unremarkable ; osbcure ..................................
different ........alike; similar; resembling......................................
efficient ........ineffictive; incapable; inept............................................
include ........exclude; eliminate; separate......................................................
integration ....division; separation......................................................................
living .......non-living; inanimate..........................................................................
normal .......abnormal; unusual; irregular...................................................
similar different; unlike; unrelated........................................................
soluble insoluble; unsoluble..........................................................................
top .....bottom; base..................................................................
usual .unusual; unique.........................................................................

UNIT 2
THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

The food used for life and growth is obtained by eating plants or other animals. Cattle, deer,
rodents, etc. that eat leaves and stems of plants are said to be herbivorous; cats, sharks and
many other animals whose food is entirely or largely other animals are termed carnivorous;
and those such as man, bears, rats and others that use a variety of both plant and animal
sources are called mixed feeders, or omnivorous. The digestive system of various animals
differs in general form, structural details, and physiological processes according to the nature
of food, the manner of life, and other factors.
The digestive system of almost every vertebra

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te has the following essential parts:
1) the mouth and mouth cavity, commonly with teeth to grasp, tear or chew food, and
a tongue that may help in capturing, grinding and sawllowing food. The cavity also contains
salivary glands to lubricate the food.
2) the pharynx, which has no digestive function.
3) the oesophagus, which is an elastic tube carrying food past the region of the heart
and lungs.
4) the stomach, which is an elarged sac or pouch where food is stored and digestion
begins.
5) the small intenstine, which is subdivided into duodenum, jejunum and ileum. This
slender elongated, usually coiled tube, is the principal region for the digestion and absorption
of food.
6) the large intestine, consisting of the caecum, colon and rectum, completes
absorption, and undigested residues are formed into masses of faeces, for expulsion through
7) the anus, situated at the end of the trunk.
The two large digestive glands, the liver and pancreas, joined by ducts to the small
intestine, are present in all vertebrates. The teeth are differentiated into specialized types for
shearing, crushing or grinding, according to the food habits of each animal species.
Food and digestion. The plant and animal food taken by animals consist of
protoplasm, which is made up of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, together with vitamins and
water. Water and inorganic salts can be absorbed from the digestive tract without change, but
the protoplasmic materials must be altered before they can be used. Many animals use food
that must be reduced physically before chemical digestion can proceed effectively. This is
accomplished by teeth in the mouth. Some flesh eaters bolt down their food entirely or in
large pieces, and its physical reduction is accomplished by muscular action in the stomach.
Herbivorous mammals that subsist upon plant materials chew their food thoroughly before
swallowing it.
The digestive enzymes are produced by all animals, but the same number of kinds of
enzymes are not present in all animals. In vertebrates, some enzymes are produced in the
salivary glands or the oesophagus, and others regularly in the stomach, small intestine and
pancreas.
The account that follows pertains especially to human digestion.

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 The saliva, secreted by three pairs of salivary glands, contains ptyalin, an enzyme that
acts in the normal alkaline medium of the mouth to reduce starches to the double sugar,
maltose. Gastric glands in the wall of the stomach secrete a fluid gastric juice that become
smixed with the food by peristaltic contractions of the stomach wall. The secretions include
mucin which lubricates the food mass, pepsin that splits proteins, etc.
In the much-folded mucosa lining the small intestine there are tubular glands that
secrete an alkaline intestinal juice containing enzymes. Erepsin continues the gastric digestion
of proteins; maltase converts maltose into glucose; sucrase changes sucrose into glucose and
fructose; and lactase divides lactose (milk sugar) into glucose and galactose. When the
stomach content enters the intestine, the acid stimulates the cells of the intestinal mucosa to
release secretin – a hormone which passes into the blood stream to the pancreas, and initiates
the discharge of pancreatic juice into the intestine. The liver secretes bile, which contains bile
salts and some wastes; the former aid digestion by physically dividing fats into small droplets.
The intestinal content is continually subjected to slow peristaltic contractions of the
muscular wall. This serves to divide the content, mix it thoroughly with the secretions, bring
new portions against the mucosa, and move the content slowly along. The small intestine is
the principal area for absorption; its inner surface bears thousands of minute projections, or
villi, each containing blood capillaries.
The end products of protein and carbohydrate digestion (amino acids, simple sugars)
pass through the cells of the intestinal mucosa and further into the blood capillaries, whence
they are carried to the liver. The protein materials serve first to repair or replace the living
protoplasm of the body. The constituent amino acids are recombined (evidently under enzyme
action) in order to form the various types of protoplasm characteristic of different tissues.
In the liver, the sugars are converted into glycogen (animal starch), and either stored or
reconverted into the blood stream to maintain a rather constant glucose level in the latter.
Muscle glycogen, derived from blood glucose, is oxydized to yield energy for muscular work
and heat production.
Fats are digested into neutral soaps and glycerol, which are taken up separately by the
intestinal mucosa; they enter the lymph vessels and, later on, the blood stream. Fats of any
kind not used at once for energy are stored in the muscle fat cells, beneath the skin, or
elsewhere in the body.
Besides the organic food materials discussed above, animals require other substances
to maintain normal health. Water is needed by all. Most birds and mammals drink water to
supplement that taken with food so as to maintain adequate amounts in their bodies. They are

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subject to greater losses of water because of their higher body temperatures and more rapid
respiration.
Certain mineral substances are normal constituents of protoplasm, and the small
amounts lost in excretions are usually replaced with the incoming food. In some places and
certain food, there are not enough of these minerals, which results in abnormal animal
metabolism. The shortage of phosphorus affects both appetite and bone formation, shortage of
copper leads to anaemia, etc.; general metabolism, growth, and reproduction are variously
affected by mineral defficiencies.
Vitamins are organic substances that regulate various vital processes in the bodies of
higher animals. Minute amounts of vitamins are essential for normal health, growth and
reproduction. Each vitamin regulates one or more particular functions and must be present in
food in a certain amount.

Make up words from the following nouns:

base .........basal...............................................................................................
body .........underbody......................................................................................
connection ..interconnect...........................................................................................
digestion .......indigestion............................................................................
epidermis .........epidermic.......................................................................................
harmony ......harmonic......................................................................................
relation ..related; relational....................................................................
resistance .....resistant ; .......................................................................................
similarity ........unsimilarity.....................................................................................
stratum ......stratification....................................................................................
water ...........watering ; underwater.....................................................

Find synonyms for the following words:

carnivore ....animal ; predator.........................................................................
change .......development ; transition......................................................
continue ....advance ; pursue ; sustain..........................................
deficiency ...shortage ; insufficiency..................................................................
engulf ..consume ; immerse................................................................
get .....gain ; accomplish ; extract.....................................................
maintain .......cultivate ; retain............................................................

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 subsequent ....following ; resulting................................................................
remains ..........debris ; remnants............................................
stop ..... finish ; close......................................................
use ......benefit ; practice.............................................................................

Find antonyms for the following words:

available .......unavailable ; limited; unobtainable..................................................
complete .......incomplete ; deficient ............................................................
cooked .......uncooked ; raw...............................................................
excess .......insufficiency ; scarcity..........................................................
full .......deficient ; incomplete..........................................................
like ........different ; unalike ......................................................................
minimum .......maximum ; most..................................................................
normality ........irregularity ; disturbance.........................................................
rapid ......delayed ; slow......................................................................................
right .........false ; imprecise.....................................................................

UNIT 3
THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

The life processes of an animal require that food and oxygen be available continually for
metabolism in its protoplasm, and that wastes be removed promptly. The circulatory system
serves for internal transport. Its essential parts are:
- blood, consisting of fluid plasma and free cells, or blood corpuscles;
- the heart, with muscular walls that contract periodically to pump the blood through the
body; and
- a system of tubular blood vessels through which the fluid is moved.
Blood. In all vertebrates, blood comprises:
1) a nearly colourless plasma;
2) white blood cells, or corpuscles (leucocytes), of several types; and
3) red cells (erythrocytes) coloured by their content of haemoglobin, which serves to
transport oxygen.

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 Plasma carries dissolved food, wastes, some gases, and internal secretions. Human
plasma consists of about 92% water, proteins and other organic compunds, and about 0.9%
inorganic salts, chiefly sodium chloride.
The red cells total about 35 trillion in a human being: each may live 25-100 days and
make 50,000 or more circuits in the blood stream. Red cells are more numerous in infants and
persons living in high mountains. Red cells are produced chieflt in the red bone marrow, and
an excess supply is often stored in the spleen. Old cells are destroyed chiefly in the spleen,
whence much of the haemoglobin passes into the liver, its pigment being excreted in the bile
and its iron content being largely turned to the marrow.
The several kinds of white cells have their principal activities in the tissues, and those
seen in the blood stream are but a part of the ’passing parade’ on the way from their origin in
the marrow, spleen or lymphoid structures to the tissues or death. Many of them can act as
phagocytes, thus protecting the body by destroying the bacteria that invade wounds. In acute
infection such as appendicitis or pneumonia, they increase markedly to battle the infection.
The whitish pus of an infected area consists of dead leucocytes, tissue cells, and blood serum.
Lymph consists of blood plasma, less some plasma proteins; it contains white cells,
but no red cells. Lymph diffuses through the walls of the capillaries, circulates about the
tissues, and enters the system of lymph capillaries which join in larger lymph vessels.
Scattered along the system are many llymps nodes. Besides producing lymphocytes, the nodes
defend the body from infection.
Heart. The entire circulatory system in any vertebrate comprises the heart, the blood
system of arteries, arterioles, veins, capillaries, and the lymphatic system. The heart is ventral
and comprises chambers with slight or heavy muscular walls that receive blood from the veins
and pump it through the arteries. In birds and mammals, the four-chambered heart really
consists of two parts: the right side pumping only from the body to the lungs, and the left side
from the lungs to the body.
The action of the heart is under involuntary nervous control: the atrium fills and
contracts, followed almost at once by the ventricles(s). The short intervals while the chambers
are filling provide the only rest for the heart muscle throughout life.
In a quiet normal adult, the human heart contracts, or ’beats’, about 72 times a minute.
The rate is increased by exercise, emotional excitement, and some diseases. In some small
birds and mammals, the heart beats 200-400 times per minute. Blood moves from the heart in
a series of spurts, which in some exposed arteries (such as in the wrist or temple) may be felt
as ’the pulse’.

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 Blood vessels. The hearts and all vessels are lined throughout with a glassy-smooth
endothelium. The walls of the aorta and larger arteries contain heavy layers of elastic and
muscle fibres, but the small arterioles are covered by smooth muscle fibres only. The capillary
walls, where all exchanges of nutrients, gases and wastes occur between the blood stream and
tissues, consist only of endothelium. Veins are thin-walled, with connective tissue fibres, but
few muscles; unlike the arteries, they collapse when empty. The walls of all blood vessels are
elastic; vasomotor nerve fibres control the muscle fibres, causing arterioles to dilate or
contract so as to alter the amount of blood passing to any organ. Human blood controls body
temperature by regulating the loss of heat.

Find antonyms for the following words:

branched .....branchless ; united............................................................................
capable .....incapable ; ineffective ..................................................................
conscious .....unconcious ; unresponsive..................................................
conspicuous .....inconspicuous ; indistinct...................................
dark .....bright ; radiant................................................................
equal .....mismatched ; unequal....................................................................
include .....exclude ; subtract.....................................................
partial .....unbiased ; just.......................................................................................
repel ......attract...............................................................................................
striated ..achromatic ; neutral....................................................................
shorten ......expand ; develop.................................................................
voluntary .....involuntary ; obligatory........................................................

Form nouns from the following words:

adapt ...adaptment.......................................................................................
attach .....attachement .......................................................................................
correspond .....correspondence.................................................................
function .....functionality......................................................................................
increase ......increasement...............................................................................
modify .....modification.........................................................................................
reduce .....reduction..........................................................................................
support .....supporter............................................................................................

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 UNIT 4
THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

All animals need oxygen for the metabolism in their cells and must dispose of the resulting
carbon dioxide. The exchange of these gases is termed respiration. Some animals can exist
dor motnhs on fats or other food stored in their bodies, many can live a short time without
water, but few survive long without oxygen, since none is stored in the body.
Ordinary respiration in different animals is performed by various respiratory organs
and systems, such as the body covering, gills, lungs or tracheae. These structures are unlike in
appearance but fundamentally the same in function. Each comprises a moist permeable
membrane through which molecules of oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse readily. In
accordance withe the laws of gases, each gas acts independently of others. When a difference
in diffusion pressure exists on the two sides of a membrane, more molecules pass toward the
region of lesser pressure than in the opposite direction. The partial pressure of oxygen in the
air of water is greater than within an animal body, where it is constantly used up, so that
oxygen tends to enter any suitable membrane surface. The partial pressure of the carbon
dioxide is higher within the animal, so that it tends to pass outwards. These exchanges occur
simultaneously.
External respiration is the exchange between the environment and the respiratory
organs. Internal respiration, or the exchange between the body fluids and tissue cells, is a part
of the general metabolism.
All higher animals, including man, have lungs as their main respiratory organ. The
glottis is an opening in the floor of the pharynx, and is supported by a cartilaginous
framework, or larynx. The latter connects to a flexible tube, or trachea, which extends into the
thorax and forks into two bronchi, one to each lung. The lungs are spongy structures having
large respiratory surfaces. The bronchioles end in microscopic thin-walled sacs, or alveoli,
surrounded by many blood capillaries, where the respiratory exchanges occur. The larynx in
mammals contains two muscular vocal cords over which air is forced to produce sound.
The high rate of metabolism in birds and mammals requires a rapid respiratory
exchange. A dome-shaped muscular partition, or diaphragm, separates the thorax containing
the heart and lungs from the abdominal cavity. The thoracic cavity is an airtight chamber, and
the ordinary atmospheric pressure of air in the alveoli keeps the elastic lungs expanded
against the inner wall of the cavity. During inspiration, the ribs are raised and muscles in the
diaphragm contract to flatten the latter; the thoracic space is thus enlarged, and pressure about
the lungs is lessened; air then passes down the trachea and into the lungs. Expiration results
from lessening the volume of the thorax by relaxing the muscles that control the ribs and
diaphragm. The ttoal oxygen capacity of the human blood averages about 1,200 cc., and 100-
350 cc. of oxygen passes into the tissues with each circuit.
In an hour, the body at rest uses about 15 litres of oxygen. The rate of breathing is
controlled mainly by a respiratory centre in the medulla of the brain, and this in turn is
stimulated by a certain excess of carbon dioxide in the blood. The respiratory rate increases
during vigorous exercise because of the greater production of carbon dioxide in the muscular
metabolism.

Form words from the following verbs:

appear .......apparition............................................................................
breathe ....breathlessness..........................................................
connect .......connective.....................................................................................
cover .......coverage............................................................................................
extent ......extension........................................................................................
press ......pressure...............................................................................
produce ......production..........................................................................................
relate .........relation......................................................................................
result .......resultance.....................................................................................
retain .........retention.......................................................................................
suit ......suitableness..........................................................................................

Give synonyms to the following words:

abrupt .....unanticipated ; sudden ...........................................
balance ..proportion ; symmetry...........................................................
comprise ...constitute ; encompass................................................................
fatigue .....exhaust ; deplete...........................................................................
locate ........discover ; detect ; pinpoint.......................................................
need .........obligation; demand....................................................................
occur .....develop ; result....................................................................
odour .............smell ; musk..................................................
previous .........preceding ; past..........................................................................
respond ...........acknowledge ; react..............................................................

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 term ..................................................................................................................

UNIT 5
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

All living protoplasm is excitable or irritable. Because of this, every organism is sensitive to
changes or stimuli from both its external and internal environments to which it responds or
reacts in various ways. Every type of organic response results from this fundamental
characteristic of excitability. To perceive stimuli, transmit these to various body parts and
effect responses, most animals have a nervous system. This system also serves to coordinate
and integrate the functions of cells, tissues and organ systems so that they act harmoniously as
a unit.
A stimulus is any physical or chemical change capable of exciting an organism or its
parts. Common external stimuli derive from temperature, moisture, light, contact, pressure,
oxygen supply, salt concentrations and odours. Internal stimuli result from the quantity of
food, water, oxygen or wastes in the body, and from fatigue, pain, disease or other conditions.
Some stimuli act directly upon cells or tissues and elicit a direct response, but most
animals have various kinds of specialized receptors (’sense organs’) to receive stimuli. A
receptor is a cell or organ having a special sensitivity to some particular kind(s) of stimulus,
as the eye to light and ear to sound. Exteroceptors receive stimuli from the external
environment, and introceptors from within the body, as with hunger and thirst. Receptors
induce the transmission of nerve impulses through the nervous system which, in turn, excites
terminal structures, or effectors, and bring about responses. Some stimuli are gradual and
elicit a slow response, as the chill that precedes a sneeze; others are abrupt and produce a
quick response, as the jab of a pin. Beyond a certain minimum, there may be no quantitative
relation between the intensity of a stimulus and the kind of magnitude of the response that it
produces; this depends upon the kinds of cells or organs excited and their physiological
condition. Upon being excited, muscles contract to produce movements, and gland cells pour
forth the secretions previously synthesized within them.
The nervous system is composed of nerve cells, or neurons, with cell processors
known as dendrites and axones. The neurons are of varied form in the systems of different
animals and in the several parts of any one nervous system. Each neuron is a distinct
anatomical unit, having no protoplasmic continuity with other neurons, and is also

14
physiologically distinct. Injury to the nucleus or cell body destroys a neuron but does not
affect adjacent neurons. The neuron is the functional unit of the nervous system, which
consists solely of neurons in orderly arrangement, they alone performing the nervous
functions. Between any two neurons related in function there is a delicate contact, or synapse,
which passes nerve impulses in only one direction, from the axone of one neuron to the
dendrite of the other. The nerve impulse that passes along a nerve fibre is possibly a chemical
change. It requires the presence of oxygen, and produces a minute but measurable amount of
carbon dioxide and a rise in temperature; an electrical change occurs, but this is far slower
than the speed of electricity.
Sensory neurons are those which conduct impulses from receptors toward the central
nervous system; motor neurons conduct impulses from the central nervous system towards
various effectors. Still other adjustor neurons in the brain and nerve tube join variously
between sensory and motor neurons. A nerve consists of one to many nerve fibres bound
together by connective tissue; some nerves contain only sensory fibres, others only motor
fibres, and many are mixed nerves. A ganglion is a unit containing the cell bodies of few or
many neurons, and certain ganglia in the brain are known as centres.
The nervous systems consists of:
1) the central nervous system, comprising the brain connected to the spinal or nerve
cord, and
2) the peripheral nervous system of 10 or 12 pairs of cranial nerves from the brain and
a pair of spinal nerves.
The brain. In higher vertebrates, the brain consists of two main parts: the cerebrum
and cerebellum. The outermost gray matter, or cortex, of the cerebrum is thickened and also
increased in area, so that it becomes folded or convoluted. In man, it contain several billion
neurons and their synapses. The cortex is the seat of all conscious sensations and actions,
memory, the will, and intelligence; its increase in bulk among the higher vertebrates is in
keeping with their greater mental activities.
The cerebellum coordinates muscular movements and shows especial development in
fishes and birds, whose movements are quick and well balanced.
The spinal cord and nerves. The outer or white matter of the spinal cord consists of
bundles of medullated fibres connecting various parts of the brain with the nuclei of spinal
nerves and adjustor neurons. The inner gray matter contains adjustor neurons and the nuclei of
motor neurons; the nuclei of the sensory neurons are situated in the dorsal root ganglia of the
spinal nerves. If the dorsal root of the spinal nerve is cut, any sensory impulses from the

15
entering fibres fail to reach the cord and brain. Destruction of the ventral root blocks all motor
control by fibres in that nerve. The ventral roots are variously injured or destroyed in infantile
paralysis, leading to impairment of muscular function.
The vegetative nervous system. This is a system consisting of ganglia and fibres that
connect to all smooth muscles, glands and the internal viscera. It regulates the rate of
metabolism, muscular action in organs and components of the blood, body fluids and tissues.
In birds and mammals, it closely regulates body temperature by increasing metabolism and
ruffling out the feathers or fur in cold weather, and by prompting the loss of heat in a warm
environment.
The vegetative nervous system consists of two parts: the sympathetic system and the
parasympathetic system, which are somewhat antagonistic. Some organs are innervated by
both. The parasympathetic promotes the secretion of saliva and other digestive juices,
increases mobility in the digestive tract, constricts the bronchi, and slows the heartbeat for
rest. The sympathetic mobilizes bodily resources for emergency situations, as in anger or fear,
liberating glycogen from the liver for use in the muscles, increasing the rate of heartbeat,
dilating the bronchi, etc.
Stimulus and response. Certain responses in animals can be classified readily, but
many cannot, because they differ from one another in degree and not in kind. In lower
animals, a large percentage of responses is invariable, whereas in higher forms the variable
responses predominate. Human behaviour is highly variable, although there are also many
invariable and involuntary responses.
The most invariable mechanical type of response is a tropism wherein an animal turns
or orients itself symmetrically to a stimulus.

Give nouns to the following adjectives:

anabolic .........anabolism.................................................................
anatomical ........anatomy.........................................................................................
capable .........capability.........................................................................................
chemical ......chemist.........................................................................................
effective .......efficiency...........................................................................................
electrical ......electricity.............................................................................................
excitable ........excitation........................................................................................
healthy ......health...........................................................................................
heavy .......heaviness.............................................................................................

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 irritable ..........irritation................................................................................

Give synonyms to the following words:

accomplish ........achive; manage............................................
adjacent .......close by ;alongside.........................................................................
bind ........secure ; attach.................................................................
compact .......solid ; compressed ; firm..............................................................
diffuse ........dilute ; expand ; separate ...................................................
distinct ....definite ; specific...................................................................
diverse .....varied ; divergent..........................................................................
equilibrium ........composure ; stability........................................................
isolate ....confine ; divide....................................................................
layer .....row ; slab.............................................................................
outermost ........beyond ; outlying....................................................................
proceed ........continue ;progress....................................................
property ..........premises; equity................................................................

UNIT 6
THE EXCRETORY SYSTEM

Excretion is usually defined as the process of ridding the body of wastes resulted from
metabolism.
The protoplasm and fluids of an animal comprise a delicately balanced
physiochemical system, and it is the function of excretion to maintain this constant internal
environment. Excess water, salts or organic materials, including metabolic wastes, are
excreted, whereas substances essential for normal functions are conserved. As the excreted
materials are usually in solution, excretion is essentially a process of selective filtering.
The principal excretory organs in every vertebrate are two kidneys. The adult kidneys
of birds and mammals are nonsegmental and drain wastes only from the blood. From each
kidney, a common excretory duct, or ureter, carries the wastes. The waste, or urine, is always
fluid, except in birds and reptiles, where the semisolid excretions are voided as whitish
material with the faeces. In most mammals, the ureters connect directly to the bladder,
whence a single duct, or urethra, discharges to the exterior. The interrelated excretory and
reproductive system of vertebrates are commonly called the urogenital system.

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 Wastes from the body are brought in the blood stream by the arteries to the arterioles.
Protein-free fluid passes from the arterioles of the kidneys into the renal tubules; then certain
materials are returned by selective resorption from the tubules to the surrounding capillaries
and rejoin the blood stream to leave in the renal veins. Urine comprises water, various salts,
urea and other organic wastes. Urea and sulphates are greatly concentrated in the urine,
whereas useful constitutents such as glucose are conserved in the body. The excretion or
retention of water depends upon the state of hydration of the body as a whole; excess is
quickly excreted, but less with a deficient intake: excess of sodium chloride in the diet is soon
excreted, but if the intake is scant or if much is lost in perspiration, the kidney conserves the
remainder and little enters the urine. The kidney deals selectively with a great variety of
materials, useful or otherwise.
Normal kidney function is essential to health, and any irregularity or disease in the
kidneys is serious. Certain salts may crystallize to form ’kidney stones’ in the pelvis of the
kidney, and sometimes require removal by surgery.
Other excretory organs. Air expired from the lungs contains water vapour, carbon
dioxide, and small amounts of excretory wastes. The sewat glands of the skin give off water,
salts, and some organic wastes. The liver forms urea, which is excreted by kidneys. It also
produces the pigment bilirubin derived from the haemoglobin with the death of red cells; this
colours the bile and is passed into the intestine to be eliminated by the faeces. Certain drugs
and metallic poisons are also disposed of by the liver.

Give nouns to the following adjectives:

light .......lightness........................................................................................
measurable .......measurement...........................................................................
metabolic ........metabolomics..............................................................................
organic .........organism...................................................................................
physiological ......psysiology.....................................................................
protoplasmic ......protoplasm....................................................................................
qualitative ...quality.............................................................................................
quantitative ....quantity..........................................................................................
sensitive .....sensitivity.............................................................................................
thick ......thickness......................................................................................
thin ......thinner...........................................................................................

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Give the plural form of the following nouns:
alveolus ........alveoli..................................................................................
apparatus .........apparatus; apparatuses......................................................................
axis ......axes................................................................................................
cranium .........crania ; craniums............................................................
ganglion ......ganglia; ganglions..............................................................................
paralysis .......paralyses........................................................................
passage .........passages; .......................................................................................
pelvis .....pelves.......................................................................................
rectum ........recta ; rectums....................................................................
synapse .............synapses................................................................................
vertebra ............... vertebrates...........................................................................

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