Imaging and investigating anatomy

• Cadavers • Histology & microscopy • Biopsy • Scanning techniques • x-rays • Anthropometry • Endoscopy • Ultrasound

• body embalmed so structures are preserved • Allows 3D visualization of structures in place • Requires little technology • Disapproved of in some cultures

• Involves measuring distances/lengths/diameters of body parts • Measure skin folds • Can work out body fat content • used in sports science

• Flexible camera • Usually needs sedation/anaesthesia • Deep look inside

• Fresh tissue - colourless and squishy • Needs to be altered before being looked at under a microscope • Can produce false results if not prepped correctly • Artifacts can be produced at each stage of the process by altering or distorting the natural appearance of the cells

• Fixation - Stabilizes and preserves tissue • Embedding - Converts tissue to solid form, so can be sliced • Sectioning - (Slicing) provides very thin specimens required for microscopy • Staining - provides visual contrast and may help identify specific tissue components (often old fashioned chemicals)

• Cheap & easy • Can use: • Light microscope • Transmission electron microscope • Scanning electron microscope

• Identify stain used • Identify cells, nuclei, extracellular space • Identify tissue type and cell type • For each cell type - determine size and shape • Identify extracellular material

• Easy to use, images can be quite clear, used routinely • An x-ray is a photo taken with a machine which passes electromagnetic radiation through the body, capturing an image of internal structure

• Not good for imaging soft tissue • Dangerous during pregnancy • Low contrast • Hidden objects

• MRI - best as give most detail - CT scan - Gives less radiation than MRI

• Uses high frequency soundwaves which reflect off body structures to produce an image • Doesn’t expose individual to radiation • Painless & safe and cheap & easy • Sometimes images are difficult to interpret for beginner

• Gel applied to area being examined to help transmit the sound waves • Handheld probe called transducer is then moved over area being examined

Computed tomography

• Much more sensitive technique than x-ray • Allows high definition of both bone and soft tissue • Clear images of the brain, muscle, joint structures, veins and arteries as well as abnormalities like tumours obtained without the injections of contrasting dye • Can generate a 3D model

• Narrow tube moves patient through a tunnel like structure • Inside structure radio waves pass through magnetic field around patient, creating a 3D image of the internal structures

• Non-invasive ways of taking pictures of the body • Uses powerful magnets and radio waves • Single MRI images are called slices - can be stored on computer or printed on film • Certain types of metals can create artifacts • Safer for pregnant women

• Forces hydrogen atoms in the body to line up in a certain way • When radio waves are sent towards the lined up hydrogen atoms, they bounce back and a computer records the signal • Different types of tissue send back different signals