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Unit 1 Health Informatics Career Pathway
Knowledge of the body’s anatomy and physiology is important for
all healthcare workers. Information about how the body is organized is
the foundation on which all other academic knowledge for healthcare
workers is based. Learning the anatomy of the body means that you will
be learning many new terms. This may seem overwhelming and you may
need some new strategies for studying this new information.
In this chapter, you will be introduced to the language of medicine
and techniques to help you learn new terminology and anatomy more
quickly. Through these concepts, you will learn about the organization
of the human body, including the directions and regions that are used to
describe anatomy. You will also learn about the anatomy and physiology
of the cell. After reading this chapter, you will be prepared to look at each
body system in more depth in future chapters.
Study Skills for Health Science Students:
Memory Techniques
It is nearly impossible to memorize all the medical terms you will hear
in class or in the workplace, but learning some of the more common word
parts will make it easier to understand the spoken and written terms used
in patient care. It will also help you fi gure out the general meanings of
body structures, diseases, and procedures. You will need to develop some
ways to remember the large amount of information used in healthcare.
Memory Techniques for Learning Terms
People use a variety of methods to help them study and remember
new terms. One common technique is to make and use fl ash cards. The
time spent creating and reviewing the cards is what makes this technique
work, so develop games or a schedule to use them often.
Some people play with the way a word looks to help remember its
meaning. For example, parallel means equal and the ll in the middle of
the word looks like a sideways equal sign. When studying a term, try
creatively drawing or reshaping the letters.
MAP YOUR READING
Make a tablet organizer with four sheets of paper using the example shown
at the left. Stack the sheets, keeping the sides even, but move each sheet of
paper up so that its bottom edge is ½ inch to 1 inch above the bottom edge of the
sheet below it. Holding the center of the stack, fold all the sheets down so the top
edge of the top sheet is ½ inch to 1 inch above the bottom edge of the top sheet.
Crease all the layers and staple at the folded edge. Write Understanding Body
Organization on the outside flap and list what you know about the organization
levels in the body. Label the edges of the flaps below the top one with the
headings The Cell, Body Tissues, Organs, Body Systems, Body Directions, Body
Regions and Quadrants, and Body Cavities and Planes. As you read, add visual
cues, definitions of new terms, and notes on important concepts to each page of
the booklet.