Anatomy and Physiology Assignment: Arrow Wound Analysis

This biology assignment analyzes a case study involving a patient with arrow wounds. The solution addresses multiple questions, including the serosal cavities penetrated by the arrow, the autonomic nervous system's response and its effect on vital signs, and the trajectory of the arrow using anatomical planes. It identifies the organs and membranes affected. The assignment also explores the cardiovascular system's role, the impact of the injuries on the pulmonary system, and the effects on hemoglobin levels. Furthermore, it discusses the neuromuscular effects, potential respiratory failure, and the layers of the trachea. The assignment utilizes academic references in APA format to support its analysis.

Running head: BIOLOGY
BIOLOGY
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Question 1
The first arrow had hit the patient in between the area of the 7th and the 8th rib of the
rib cage. This part comprises of the intercostal space and the intra-thoracic cavity which in
turn is enveloped by the serosal membrane. The serosal membrane cavities which make up
this space are the pleura and the pericardium. The pleura are two pleural cavities which are
found in the thoracic cavity and the pericardium is the pericardial cavity that is placed within
the mediastinum of the thoracic cavity (Mutsaers, 2013).
The serous membrane is a tissue membrane which is responsible for secretion of
serous fluid. This covers the wall of the organs like the thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities.
This is further divided into visceral and parietal layers, where the mesothelium is composed
of avascular flat nucleated cells or simple squamous epithelium, whereas the connective
tissue comprises of nerves and blood vessels. By enclosing the body cavities or called the
serosal cavities, these secrete lubricating fluid which is able to reduce friction for the
movement of muscles (Paramhans et al., 2014).
Question 2
The part of the nervous system which is responsible for supplying to the internal
organs of the body which includes the blood vessels, liver, intestine, kidneys and others is
known as the autonomic nervous system. This is mainly divided in two parts, the sympathetic
and the parasympathetic nervous system. When the arrow penetrates the 7th and 8th rib area,
the axon might be affected of the visceral motor neuron of the CNS. This is in turn connected
to the internal organs to the brain via the spinal nerves. This in turn can have an effect on the
vital signs of the patient in terms that this might increase the heart rate of the patient,
followed by an elevated blood pressure. This happens because the human body is known to

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be connected with the sympathetic chain ganglia which also targets the thoracic, visceral,
head, body walls and the limbs (Florea & Cohn, 2014).
Question 3
In terms of the direction and the anatomical planes, it can be out forward that the
abdominal cavity extends in a superior way in to the osseocartilaginous thoracic cage and this
goes into the fourth of the intercostal space. As a result of this, the respective organs are
known to be far more superior to the abdominal organs like the spleen, the stomach, the liver
and the part of the kidneys, each of which are guarded by the thoracic cage (Ganguly et al.,
2014).
Question 4
The cardiovascular system represents a network of organs along with vessels which
play a role in the flow of the blood along with the nutrients, hormones, oxygen. Additionally
the several organs work together to continue the flow. According to the case presented here,
the pulmonary system of the patient is unable to take part in the circulation occurring
between the heart and the lungs respectively. In case both of these systems stops working, the
patient will not be able to breathe properly, which in turn will not allow the blood to return.
This is because the oxygen of the body is dependent on the blood that is coming from the
right atrium of the heart (Lavie et al., 2015). Therefore because of this, the blood present in
the right atrium is pumped into the right ventricle. When it is present on the other side of
systemic circuit, which in turn takes place in the interaction of the heart circulation and the
rest of the body however the lungs are excluded. The haemoglobin of the patient as a result is
low at this condition since there is no enough oxygen present which can be transported to all
over the body, however the level of the haemoglobin needs to be maintained. It is reported
that both the haemoglobin and the haematocrit are based on the whole blood. Hence this is

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dependent on the amount of the plasma present. In case the patient is extremely dehydrated,
there is a chance that the haematocrit and the haemoglobin appears together in case the
patient is normovolemic. In case the patient is overloaded with fluids, there is a chance that it
is lower than the normal level (Paramhans 2014).
Question 5
The neuromuscular effect that can be present for the patient is pain and also there
might be a rise in the respiratory failure which might be a result of the easy muscle fatigue,
along with the recurring infections of the lower respiratory tract. For the muscle to contract,
there are signals which originate from the nervous sytem, which are transmitted to the muscle
present at the neuromuscular junction. This place presents an area that is a for the
communication occurring between the schwann cells, motor neurons and the muscle fibers.
There might be presence of the chronic neuromuscular disease like the conditions of
amytotropic lateral sclerosis, spinal cord injury or the muscular dystrophies that might result
in the respiratory complications. There might be a several number of other complications
present which affects the pathways connecting the voluntary centres of respiration which
creates problem for the patient to breathe which might happen to the patient presented here
(Pratt et al., 2013).
Question 6
1. The innermost layer is the mucosa, which consists of the columnar epithelium that is
ciliated having goblet cells. These epithelial cells envelops the body and the body
cavity, which is found in the air sac, the lungs and the digestive tract.
2. This is the subcutaneous layer that is the deep mucosa made up of the connective
tissue having the nervous tissue and the blood vessels. This is further subcategorized
for provision of support, elasticity and strength.

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3. This area surrounding the submucosa is the hyaline cartilage. This forms the rings of
support for the trachea. By providing a flexible and strong structure, it keeps the
airway open. Injury can affect the two airways of bronchi. There might be shortness
of breath, which makes haemoglobin less (Brand-Saberi & Schäfer, 2014).

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References
Brand-Saberi, B. E., & Schäfer, T. (2014). Trachea: anatomy and physiology. Thoracic
surgery clinics, 24(1), 1-5.
Florea, V. G., & Cohn, J. N. (2014). The autonomic nervous system and heart
failure. Circulation research, 114(11), 1815-1826.
Ganguly, T., Kar, S. K., Dasgupta, C. S., Goswami, A., & Mandal, A. (2014). Penetrating
Arrow Wound of the Chest-A Case Report. J Case Rep Stud, 2(2), 206.
Lavie, C. J., Arena, R., Swift, D. L., Johannsen, N. M., Sui, X., Lee, D. C., ... & Blair, S. N.
(2015). Exercise and the cardiovascular system: clinical science and cardiovascular
outcomes. Circulation research, 117(2), 207-219.
Mutsaers, S. E. (2013). Mesothelial cells: their structure, function and role in serosal
repair. Respirology, 7(3), 171-191.
Paramhans, D., Shukla, S., Batra, A., & Mathur, R. K. (2014). Successful removal of an
impacted metallic arrowhead penetrating up to the brainstem. Journal of
Emergencies, Trauma and Shock, 3(3), 303.
Pratt, S. J., Shah, S. B., Ward, C. W., Inacio, M. P., Stains, J. P., & Lovering, R. M. (2013).
Effects of in vivo injury on the neuromuscular junction in healthy and dystrophic
muscles. The Journal of physiology, 591(2), 559-570.

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