Anatomy and Physiology Study Material with Solved Assignments and Essays

Anatomy and Physiology 1
Anatomy and Physiology
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Anatomy and Physiology 2
Q1
A body height of 185cm, weight of 95kg and a waist circumference of 100cm is not
proportional because his body mass index (BMI) is above the standard recommendation of
18.5-24.9 (Flegal, Kit, Orpana, and Graubard, 2013).
BMI = weight (kg)/height in metres2
= 95kg/1.8m2
= 95/3.24
= 29.32kg/m2
A BMI of 29.32 implies that Brodie is overweight.
An ideal body shape and size for Brodie with a height of 185cm is 65kg, representing a BMI
of 19.0kg/m2.
The increase in weight of Brodie is the cause for his life style complications such as a high
blood pressure of 150/95mmHg, high cholesterol levels and upper respiratory infection. A
blood pressure of 130/80mmHg is considered high (Roberts and Hedges, 2013). High blood
pressure is also as a result of lack of physical activity, extra salt in the diet, and older age
(Whelton et al., 2018). All these characteristics are evident in Brodie.
Increase in body weight cause the blood pressure to increase as well. This is because the
increase in weight is associated with increase in total body fat, as a result the capillaries,
which are responsible for blood transportation in the entire body, become thin due to fat
deposits. As the heart pumps blood, the restrictive nature of the capillaries forces it to
increase pumping pressure, hence little amount of blood reaches the heart muscle. This
causes high blood pressure in the body (Mamun et al., 2009).
For Brodie to lower his health risks such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels,
he has to lower his body weight to recommended standard levels. Additionally, Brodie has to
adopt a healthy lifestyle. These can be achieved through choosing foods high in fiber such as
fruits, vegetables, beans and whole-grain (Rosner, Cook, Daniels, and Falkner, 2013). The
patient also needs to prefer whole-wheat to processed starches. Limiting serving size and
minimizing the intake of foods with high calorie such as cheeses and higher-fat-meats.

Anatomy and Physiology 3
Exercise is one of the best way to reduce weight and lower the risk of heart diseases (Chudyk
and Petrella, 2011).
Q2
Aerobic Respiration
During body exercise, the mitochondria of muscle fibers generates ATP (Adenosine
Triphosphate) through the process of aerobic respiration. Aerobic respiration needs oxygen in
order to breakdown food energy so as to produce ATP for muscle movements. Large amounts
of ATP are produced by during aerobic respiration and is a faster way of producing ATP. For
example, 38 ATP molecules can be produced for each glucose molecule that is synthesized. It
is the most appropriate method of production of ATP by body cells. Aerobic respiration
demands a lot of oxygen for it to take place and it can occur over an extended period of time
(Cheuvront, Kenefick, Montain, and Sawka, 2010). The increase in levels of activity raises
the breathing rate which causes an increase in the supply of more oxygen for more production
of ATP. The process of aerobic respiration takes place in four main stages namely glycolysis,
production of acetyl coenzyme, the citric acid cycle, and the chain of electron transport.
Anaerobic Respiration
Under intensive exercise, muscle contraction takes place very fast and as a result oxygen
cannot travel to the muscles cells quickly enough to keep up with the demands of the muscles
for ATP. During this stage, muscle fibres can shift to a haltering process that doesn’t need
oxygen. Energy stores are broken down in the absence of oxygen to produce ATP through
anaerobic respiration.
Anaerobic respiration produces only two ATP molecules for each molecule of glucose, thus
making it less efficient process compared to aerobic respiration. Nonetheless, anaerobic
respiration produces ATP twice faster than aerobic glycolysis. Glycolysis can supply large
amounts of ATP that is required during short periods of intensive activity. Anaerobic also
requires large amounts of glucose to produce comparatively low amount of ATP.
Furthermore, lactic acid is produced in large amounts during glycolysis process. The faster
accumulation of lactic acid than it can be eliminated from the muscle causes muscle fatigue.
The process of anaerobic respiration can only last for approximately 30 to 60 seconds.