You probably have a general understanding of how your body works. But do you fully comprehend how all of the intricate functions and systems of the human body work together to keep you healthy? This course will provide that insight. By approaching the study of the body in an organized way, you will be able to connect what you learn about anatomy and physiology to what you already know about your own body.

By taking this course, you will begin to think and speak in the language of the domain while integrating the knowledge you gain about anatomy to support explanations of physiological phenomenon. The course focuses on a few themes that, when taken together, provide a full view of what the human body is capable of and of the exciting processes going on inside of it.

Topics covered include: Structure and Function, Homeostasis, Levels of Organization, and Integration of Systems.

Note: This free course requires registration

Biology 2e is designed to cover the scope and sequence requirements of a typical two-semester biology course for science majors. The text provides comprehensive coverage of foundational research and core biology concepts through an evolutionary lens. Biology includes rich features that engage students in scientific inquiry, highlight careers in the biological sciences, and offer everyday applications. The book also includes various types of practice and homework questions that help students understand—and apply—key concepts. The 2nd edition has been revised to incorporate clearer, more current, and more dynamic explanations, while maintaining the same organization as the first edition. Art and illustrations have been substantially improved, and the textbook features additional assessments and related resources.

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Discuss the role of neural regulation in digestive processes
Explain how hormones regulate digestion

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the role of different glands in the endocrine system
Explain how the different glands work together to maintain homeostasis

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Explain how hormones work
Discuss the role of different types of hormone receptors

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Explain how hormones regulate the excretory system
Discuss the role of hormones in the reproductive system
Describe how hormones regulate metabolism
Explain the role of hormones in different diseases

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Explain how hormone production is regulated
Discuss the different stimuli that control hormone levels in the body

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

List the different types of hormones
Explain their role in maintaining homeostasis

Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

This Science NetLinks lesson helps students understand how environmental "surprises" and scientific uncertainty related to endocrine disruptors influence perceptions of benefits and costs, and thus the decisions that people make. This lesson uses an interactive E-Sheet.

Comprised of a group of duct-less glands with limited or no anatomical contact with each other, the endocrine system integrates and controls metabolic activity through the secretion of hormones into the vascular system. These hormones may have their effects on tissues and organs far from where they were produced.

This course will provide the student with an overview of the body from a systemic perspective. Each unit will focus on one system, or network of organs that work together to perform a particular function. At the end of this course, the student will review the ways in which the systems overlap, as well as discuss current body imaging techniques and learn how to correctly interpret the images in order to put our newly-gained anatomical knowledge to practical use. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: identify gross and microscopic anatomy and explain interactions of the major organ systems in the human body; perform and analyze experiments in human anatomy (virtual); use language necessary to appropriately describe human anatomy; explain and identify how structure and function complement each other; describe how anatomy relates to medical situations in healthy and diseased states. (Biology 302)

Physiology is the study of the processes of the body. This course is about the unconscious mechanics of living; the student will look at each organ system in detail and then discuss the ways in which the systems interact in order to maintain the body at an optimal state. Metabolism and homeostasis--or the maintenance of the body at a set, optimal level--will be the primary themes. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: describe the relationship between structure and function at the cellular level and relate dysfunctional states of health to problems at the cellular level when appropriate; given relevant physiological information, explain the physiological mechanisms involved; describe the concepts of homeostasis and feedback control in relationship to each organ system; use a vocabulary of physiological terms and demonstrate an ability to communicate efficiently in a medical environment; describe techniques currently in use that measure the function of organ systems. (Biology 304)

The hypothalamus is a small area in the ventral diencephalon of the forebrain, in the floor of the third ventricle, and is a functional link between the nervous and endocrine systems.

Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.