Chapter 40 Lecture Enrichment Ideas
Show slides of various tissue types, and point out the characteristics of each specific type, particularly the different kinds of connective tissue matrix.
Emphasize the presence of all kinds of tissues in nearly every organ, such as the epithelium lining the stomach's interior and exterior surfaces, the muscle that allows stomach contractions to occur, the nerves that supply the impulses for those contractions, and the connective tissues such as blood and the connections binding the various tissues together to form the functional organ.
Portray the viewpoint of a louse or flea, where the human body is a collection of ecosystems from the temperate forest of hair on the head, to the tropical jungles of the armpits and pubic area, to the barren grasslands of the forearm. While we tend to think of the human body as uniform, head lice and pubic lice are well aware of the climatic differences, both in temperature and in moisture and in amount of skin flakes.
Describe the internal sensors that operate in maintaining blood pressure, blood volume, blood chemistry, and other characteristics, pointing out that sensory information is not always from the external environment and is not always consciously recognized. This has implications for evolution, where we tend to think only of adaptations to the external environment; adaptations to parasites and bacterial and viral invaders may be more important to humans who have mastered their external environment with heaters, air conditioners and clothing.
Discuss the functions of the skin, especially its protective functions of maintaining water in the body and preventing bacterial infections. You might discuss how burns over much of the body are so dangerous in eliminating these functions of the skin.
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