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Teacher Guide
BODY ATLAS
For Grades 7-College
Teacher's Guide by: Bill Roberts
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents and Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Instructional Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Introduction and Summary of the Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Program One: In the Womb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 4
Program Two: Glands and Hormones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 5
Program Three: Muscle and Bone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 - 6
Program Four: Breath of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 - 7
Program Five: Skin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 8
Program Six: The Food Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 - 9
Program Seven: In the Womb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 - 10
Program Eight: Visual Reality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 - 11
Program Nine: Defense and Repair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 - 12
Program Ten: Sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 - 13
Program Eleven: The Human Pump. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 - 14
Program Twelve: Now Hear This . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 - 15
Program Thirteen: The Brain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 - 16
The DVD version is English Subtitled.
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INSTRUCTIONAL NOTES
It is suggested that you preview the program and read the related information. By doing so, you will become familiar
with the materials and be better prepared to adapt the program to the needs of your class. You will probably find it best
to follow the programs in the order in which they are presented in this Teacher’s Guide, but this is not necessary. It is
also suggested that the program presentation take place before the entire class and under your direction. As you review
the instructional program outlined in the Teacher’s Guide, you may find it necessary to make some changes, deletions,
or additions to fit the specific needs of your students.
THE BODY ATLAS
Knowledge of how the body works is power. Each of the thirteen programs investigates a system within the human
body. The study uses unparalleled investigative techniques; miniature cameras and endoscopy, ultrasound and X-ray
tomography, which present amazing visualized links between the inside and outside workings of the body, the highly
complex coordination required to do everyday tasks. The series presents a rare opportunity to bring the study of
anatomy alive.
Series of 13 Individual Programs (each is 25 minutes long):
Program 1) In the Womb: The most important nine months of life.
Program 2) Glands and Hormones: The chemical communication network; endocrine glands and growth hormones,
the pancreas and insulin. The “fight or flight" response.
Program 3) Muscle and Bone: Strength and lightness of bone. Exercise and muscle-building.
Program 4) Breath of Life: How the lungs absorb oxygen. Red blood cells carry oxygen. Breathing reflex, hiccups
and yawning.
Program 5) Skin: How the largest organ, skin, grows. Pigmentation, suntans, and the sense of touch.
Program 6) The Food Machine: A trip through the alimentary canal.
Program 7) Taste and Smell: Receptors in the nose and tongue, the basics behind wine-tasting and scent-testing.
Program 8) Visual Reality: The different parts of visual system, and the real key to sight, the brain.
Program 9) Defense and Repair: Healing, from broken bones to immune systems. How vaccination and inoculation
work.
Program 10) Sex: How the reproductive system works.
Program 11) The Human Pump: The role of blood, blood cells and the heart. What blood pressure reveals.
Program 12) Now Hear This: How the ears work, from balance to musical pitch.
Program 13) The Brain: Thinking, reflexes and memory. Are the brain and the mind the same?
PROGRAM 1: IN THE WOMB
Teachers are encouraged to preview the film before showing it in class
The film follows the development of Valerie’s coming baby son, from hours after conception to a few weeks before his
birth. It concludes with the birth of her friend Zoë’s son.
Specific Terminology
Fetus
Genetic information
Ultrasound
Contractions
Menstrual Period
Fallopian tube/s
Embryo
Placenta
Womb
DNA
Sperm
Umbilical cord
Birth canal
Ovary/ies
Outline of Major Concepts:
A baby at birth contains 2 trillion cells.
Large animals generally have longer pregnancies. Humans have one of the longest, 39 weeks. Pregnancy varies little
from woman to woman.
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All of the eggs a woman will produce are formed in her ovaries before she is born. They are the largest cells in the
body. A man will continue to produce sperm for most of his life.
A woman releases one egg every 28 days. It drifts into a fallopian tube and will be impregnated by only one of the
millions of sperm which have entered her body.
All of the genetic information to produce a unique human is combined from the egg and sperm.
In 1 1/2 days the fertilized egg will divide into two cells. It will take one week to travel down the fallopian tube to
attach itself to the wall of the uterus.
Valerie can test her possible pregnancy through a hormonal shift which shows up in a test of her urine. Around the time
of her first missed menstrual period, Valerie's breasts enlarge, signaling that her body is beginning to adapt.
Partial chronology of baby's development:
y3rd week: Heart begins beating. Most organs have begun. In less than a month the egg becomes an embryo.
y5th week: Umbilical cord functioning. Brain is 1/3 of size.
y6th week: Fingers and toes forming.
y7th week: First movement, undetectable. Baby weighs 1/3 oz.
y8th week: Fetus is 1 inch long, bones forming, looks human.
y9th week: Head is almost 1/2 of body's length. Rudimentary spinal cord. No sign of consciousness.
y14th week: Valerie can feel movement. Fetus swallows and excretes. Thumb sucking begins, indicating handedness.
y16th week: Fetus fills womb. It is receiving food and eliminating waste through the umbilical cord to the placenta,
which acts as its lungs, liver and digestive organs.
y20th week: Heartbeat is twice Valerie's and is delivering daily a few spoonfuls of blood. Valerie is aware of its
sleeping and waking times.
y26th week: Valerie's heart, kidneys, breathing, and skin are adapting. Baby can hear and is light sensitive.
y30th week: Baby now almost independent, has a good chance of survival, though still 2 months premature.
y35th-39th weeks: Baby's muscle tone and brain well developed. Valerie has gained 30 lbs. Baby turns head down.
yBaby' first cry starts its breathing and oxygen intake causes red blood cells to change its color from blue to pink.
PROGRAM 2: GLANDS AND HORMONES
Teachers are encouraged to preview the film before showing it in class
Hormones are the bridge between our inner bodies and the outside world. They control every aspect of our lives, our
emotions, our size and our sex. In the film, Chris, an airline pilot, illustrates how the body's daily rhythm is affected by
time change. As he trains in a flight simulator, we see how the body's glandular system adjusts to deal with an
emergency.
Specific Terminology:
Hormones
Hypothalamus
Adrenalin
Mucous
Insulin
Biological clock
Melatonin
Noradrenalin
Thyroid
Glucagon
Jet-lag
Pituitary
Cortisol
Thyroxine
Glands
Adrenal glands
Testosterone
Glucose
Outline of Major Concepts:
All humans are governed by a 24-hour "biological clock".
The "clock" resides in the brain's hypothalamus. It undergoes seasonal as well as daily changes. A sort of "third eye"
resets the hypothalamus.
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At night the hypothalamus releases melatonin assisting sleep. It stops when we open our eyes each morning, resetting
the clock.
When the body is out of synchronization, as in jet lag, there is a resulting clash or hormones causing fatigue and
disorientation.
The brain is the electrical control system; the several glands are the chemical control system.
Each glandular clock operates separately but the brain's pituitary gland keeps each of them in order by releasing a half
dozen separate hormones.
The pituitary gland weighs only 1/40 oz. It periodically instructs the other glands to release their own hormones.
In the early morning the pituitary targets the adrenal glands to "tune up" the body and to produce cortisol, giving the
body an initial burst of energy.
Later on the inner adrenals release the alertness hormone, adrenalin.
Threat causes a release of adrenalin; anger causes a release of noradrenalin. Both can release at the same time. They are
only one atom apart. The normal ratio is 4: 1 adrenalin.
In Chris' emergency his pupils dilate to improve eyesight, breathing is faster and deeper to increase oxygen, saliva and
mucous dry to increase air passage, the heart speeds up to increase blood to brain and muscles, he perspires to cool his
skin, muscles tighten for rapid movement, digestion slows to conserve energy, and his blood prepares to clot or fight
infection.
The thyroid produces thyroxine to control growth, controls the rate at which we turn food into body tissue, and acts as
the body's thermostat.
The brain is fueled by glucose delivered by blood. When blood sugar is low. we are tired and hungry.
The pancreas pours out insulin which removes sugar from the blood for later use. Glucagon puts sugar back into the
blood.
At night the pituitary steps up growth hormones to repair the day's damage. We are most defenseless at night.
PROGRAM 3: MUSCLE AND BONE
Teachers are encouraged to preview the film before showing it in class
Bobby is a 2000 meter single scull racer. In following his training regimen, we see how the muscles and bones work
together and how the body is an especially efficient machine which is both strong and light.
Specific Terminology:
Oxygen
Phosphorus
Vertebrae
Glycogen
Synovial fluid
Protein
Calcium
Coccyx
Lactic acid
Outline of Major Concepts:
The muscular system runs on stored sugar (glycogen), which is converted to energy acting as a force on an object.
Oxygen in the lungs burns the sugar to create the force. Greater lung capacity means more efficient fuel consumption.
Exercise increases blood flow, therefore more oxygen to cells.
Human muscle is about 25% efficient (about the same as a car). Three-fourths is wasted as heat. The body's "engine"
peaks at about 4 1/2 horsepower.
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The embryo's bones start growth at about 9 1/2 weeks. It is born with 350 bones but they will fuse to 206 by birth.
Bones' length range from a fraction of an inch to 2 feet.
Bones' hardness is made up of calcium and phosphorus. Bones’ crystals, layered for strength, gradually dissolve and
are carried away by the bloodstream. They are replaced every 2 years. The skeleton weighs 30 lbs., about 20% of the
body's weight. About 1/3 of the bone's weight is living tissue.
The knee is the most complex joint. The shoulder's connections are loosest to aid flexibility in the arms.
Bones are separated by soft pads filled with synovial fluid.
Joints work on pivot points and are joined to the bones in order to amplify the work of the muscles.
The hand is the most amazing piece of biological engineering. It is the opposable thumb which sets us apart its two
middle fingers are operated by long tendons in the forearm.
The backbone is the most massive because it must support the upper torso and protect the spinal cord. It contains 24
vertebrae, separated by soft discs, and ends at the coccyx.
Thirty-one pairs of nerves span out from the spinal cord, ending in a bundle called the "horsetail".
The strongest bones are in the legs and can support one ton. The foot's arch spreads the weight. Stubby toes provide
spring.
Muscle is half the body's weight. We have 656 muscles, 3 for each bone. Muscles are made up of protein generating 40
lbs. of force per square inch.
We control all of our muscles except the heart and those smooth muscles which line the stomach and blood vessels.
Muscles are "fired" by nerve stimuli, the action coming from the attraction of different protein in their fiber. Muscle
cells are as thin as hair and some are up to 2" long.
For maximum effort, muscles produce energy which doesn't require oxygen. Lactic acid build-up causes pain and
fatigue.
PROGRAM 4: BREATH OF LIFE
Teachers are encouraged to preview the film before showing it in class
All life began in the sea. Our lungs have adapted to take in the greater amount of air available in our atmosphere. In
this film we see how John Fitzgerald, a champion swimmer, trains his breathing in order to remain a champion. We see
how the lungs extract oxygen from the air we breath and deliver it to our blood in order to produce heat and energy. We
see also what problems oxygen deprivation can cause.
Specific Terminology:
Oxygen
Epiglottis
Carbon dioxide
Nitrogen
Alveoli
Mucous membranes
Outline of Major Concepts:
Lungs weigh 2 1/2 lbs. and fill 90% of the chest cavity.
Blood vessels line the lungs and absorb the oxygen.
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Diaphragm
Hemoglobin
A human will breathe about 400 million times in a lifetime. As we inhale muscles in the rib cage pull the lungs up; as
we exhale the diaphragm pulls the lungs down and muscles relax.
In a single day in the city we may breathe in over a trillion particles of dirt and pollution. Nose hairs trap pollen and
dirt. Mucous membranes trap dirt which is propelled by tiny hairs back into the throat, where it is swallowed or
expectorated.
In cold weather the mucous hairs are sluggish creating an overflow which results in a "runny nose".
Narrow passages in the nose slow down the air intake, so John must also breathe through his mouth. The passages from
the nose and mouth meet at the back of the throat.
The epiglottis is the flap at the back of the throat which closes when we are swallowing in order to keep food from
entering the air passage.
Water makes up 2/3 of the body's weight. We expel a pint of water each day as we exhale.
The windpipe is reinforced with cartilage to keep it open and is lined with tiny hairs which carry the dirt-laden mucous
back up to the throat. Coughing helps discharge the mucous.
Air passages divide over and over, ending in tiny tubes, each of which is draped with tiny sacs, alveoli, whose walls are
so thin that the oxygen can travel through them to the blood. The lungs contain 100 million alveoli.
The lungs have their own blood supply. Half of the heart is devoted solely to conveying oxygen to and from the lungs.
Oxygen enters the blood combining with hemoglobin which turns it red and helps it dissolve in order to reach the
muscles.
Combined oxygen and muscle fuel creates carbon dioxide which is dissolved by blood, returned to the lungs, and
exhaled.
The lungs contain about 2 minutes' worth of oxygen, the build up of carbon dioxide telling the brain that we need to
breathe.
The deeper we dive under the sea, the more oxygen we need to balance the increased outside pressure. The higher we
climb, the more red cells we produce to maximize oxygen use.
With a loss of air pressure, the brain cells, deprived of oxygen, begin to starve and we lose consciousness.
PROGRAM 5: SKIN
Teachers are encouraged to preview the film before showing it in class
Kadamba, sun bathes, swims and brushes her hair. Through her we see the effects of the sun on the skin and how skin
and hair grow and are replenished. We see how the skin protects the body, regulates body temperature, reacts to sensations, and synthesizes vitamins. We see also how hair grows and is distributed and how nails develop. Considering
what the skin does to protect us, we should exercise more caution to protect it.
Specific Terminology:
Epidermis
Dermis
Follicles
Melanin
Collagen
Pigmentation
Vitamin D
Elastin
Photo-aging
Outline of Major Concepts:
The skin constitutes about 10 lbs. of the body's weight and covers an area of some 20 sq. ft.
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One sq. in. of a hand's skin contains 9 ft. of blood vessels, 30 hairs, 134 yds. of nerves, 600 pain sensors, 36 heat
sensors, 75 pressure sensors, and 9000 nerve endings.
The skin is multi-layered. The outer layer, epidermis, is about half the thickness of a sheet of paper. Cells are
constantly pushing up from below to replace the epidermis.
The skin cells we touch have hardened and died. Every day we shed 10 million dead skin cells, 50 lbs. in a lifetime. We
grow a new skin about every six weeks.
Skin cells produce a protective substance, melanin. It is the skin's protection against sunburn. Melanin is more active in
dark-skinned people. Fair-skinned people are more vulnerable to sunburn and, therefore, suffer more skin cancer.
The second layer of skin, dermis, is the "machine" in the world of flesh. It consists of flexible fibers, collagen and
elastin.
The skin controls body temperature with sweat glands playing the crucial role. Evaporation of sweat cools the skin. It is
possible for a person to sweat two gallons in a day.
Blood vessels dilate, increasing blood flow to the surface releasing heat. Sweat, air currents and radiation carry the
heat away.
In cold weather heat sensors are the body's thermostat, switching on and off. The sensors tell muscles to pull hair
upright which traps the warmer air close to the body's surface.
Messages from touching reach the brain in less than 1/100 of a second. The sensors are closest together at the finger
tips, about 1/10 of an inch apart.
Hair is made from the same fibers as skin and is dead above the skin's surface. It grows from tiny pits, follicles. There
are up to 150,000 hairs on the human head.
Eyelashes protect from dirt and dust particles. Eyebrows keep sweat out of the eyes. Ear hair wax filters out dust and
insects.
In aging, hair follicles shrink producing fine hairs, the pigmentation process slows causing hair to grey, and the skin
gets thinner losing its elasticity which results in wrinkles.
Photo-aging is caused by the sun's ultra-violet radiation which hardens the skin's elastin. This is the leading contributor
to skin cancer.
PROGRAM 6: THE FOOD MACHINE
Teachers are encouraged to preview the film before showing it in class
The food we eat is attacked, processed and manipulated by a whole assortment of our organs as it works its way
through our digestive system. From the breakfast Gary eats before going to work to the junk food he enjoys at the
office coffee break, we follow his food as it makes its day-long 36-footjourney through the alimentary canal.
Specific Terminology:
Epiglottis
Salivary glands
Hydrochloric acid
Amino acids
Duodenum
Lymphatic vessels
Sphincter/s
Ureters
Esophagus
Bolus
Carbohydrates
Chyme
Villi
Liver
Pancrea/s
Bladder
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Peristalsis
Pepsin
Protein
Calories
Glucose
Gall bladder
Kidney/s
Enzyme/s
Outline of Major Concepts:
The digestive system is never "switched off'. It uses 10% of the body's total energy requirements.
The first attack on the food is by the teeth, the body' hardest substance, which are designed to mill, cut and tear.
Chewed food is mixed with saliva which is secreted by 3 pair of salivary glands. They produce 2 pints of saliva daily.
Saliva is composed of two enzymes which turns starch into sugar.
The swallowing reflex stops breathing. The epiglottis is a flap that closes the breathing mechanism when we swallow.
A mouthful of food, bolus, traverses the esophagus in 3 sec.
The stomach is both processor and reservoir which holds 3 pts.
The stomach produces about a gallon of acid, mostly hydrochloric, daily. Acids breaks food down. Mucous coats the
stomach walls to protect them. The gastric juice enzyme, pepsin, dismantles protein into amino acids.
Food stays in the stomach from two to six hours where it is churned and squeezed into a paste, chyme.
The same food always releases the same amount of energy which is measured in calories. Fat, which is more
concentrated, contains twice the calories as carbohydrates.
It is during the 20 ft journey through the small intestines, the duodenum, that the broken-down nutrients are absorbed.
Small projections, villi, increase the absorption of glucose and amino acids (the building blocks from carbohydrates
and protein) through the lymphatic vessels into the bloodstream.
The liver, gall bladder and pancreas, excrete a cocktail of digestive juices through the same canal into the duodenum.
They break down fat and neutralize acids.
The liver, our largest organ, is a chemical factory which filters out and recombines nutrients. It controls and dispenses
energy.
Six hours after consumption, food enters the large intestine where bacteria, after manufacturing some vitamins,
converts it into solid waste. Bacteria make up most of solid waste.
From the waste, water is reclaimed by the kidneys, each of which has over a million filters. The kidneys control the
water valves and recirculate water back into the system, excreting any remaining waste as urine through Ureters to the
bladder.
PROGRAM 7: TASTE AND SMELL
Teachers are encouraged to preview the film before showing it in class
Smells influence how we think, feel and act. Tom and Anna are having dinner at an expensive restaurant. As they enjoy
a variety of tasty dishes, we see how the taste system works and learn that the nose is far more important that the
tongue in telling us how food tastes. Smell can literally "make or break" their evening. Later on they are at a disco.
Through them we learn how olfactory nerves pick up human scents that influence our emotions.
Specific Terminology:
Limbic system
Salivary gland
Olfactory nerves
Pheromones
Professional "noses"
Trigeminal nerve
Taste buds
Aphrodisiacs
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Palates
Pituitary gland
Testosterone
Outline of Basic Concepts:
The nose is an electronic sensor which, with every breath we take, feeds information directly to the brain.
Air is filled with scent molecules which the brain interprets as smells. The shape of the molecule determines the smell.
Five percent of a "sniff' goes to the top of the nose, 1/4 in. from the brain's limbic system. The rest goes to the lungs.
Smell molecules dissolve in mucous and are trapped in hairy receptors, 5 million of which cover an area the size of a
stamp.
The tongue contains sensors which check temperature, texture and taste suitability and it "balls" food for swallowing.
Taste, like smell, is a chemical sense. The tongue's taste buds wait to capture flavor molecules.
The tongue can detect only 4 different flavors: bitter at the back, sour at the sides, salty in front, and sweet at the tip.
When food is crunched vapors drift up the back of the nose to the smell receptors, so 90% of what we "taste" is actually
smell. Smell is 10,000 times more sensitive than taste.
Saliva aids digestion and dissolves taste molecules, allowing them to react with taste buds.
The 3rd taste sense, the trigeminal, is a super-sensitive nerve which runs around the inside of the mouth and nose and
detects spicy and pungent odors making the eyes water.
Olfactory nerves are unique because they renew themselves. We get a new "nose" every 2-3 weeks. Taste buds also
renew.
The limbic system is the brain's memory bank and, therefore a defense mechanism. Smell or taste and you never forget.
Smell and taste are a baby's first senses to develop, as early as seven weeks from conception. Within six days a baby
can single out a mother's scent and a mother can pick out her baby's clothes from a pile.
Smells evoke memories, emotions and feelings-the basis of the scent industry. Smells trigger the pituitary which
controls emotions. Body smells are the strongest. Each person produces his own smell, as personal as a fingerprint.
Pheromones, the most potent smell, are involved in sexual attraction. They are similar to testosterone. Some foods
contain the same chemicals and are considered aphrodisiacs.
PROGRAM 8: VISUAL REALITY
Teachers are encouraged to preview the film before showing it in class
The eyes are the window to our intelligence, consciousness and our soul. As Gary, a videographer, films Caroline
painting a still life, we learn how the eye and a camera see differently and similarly. This film studies how our amazing
eyes function and how the brain interprets what we see.
Specific Terminology:
Iris
Retina
Rod cells
Visual purple
Pupil
Light receptors
Cone cells
Optic nerve
Lens
Bactericide
Reflected light
Blind spot
Cornea
Outline of Major Concepts:
We look for edges, shapes and shadows. The eye, working with the brain, analyzes what we see.
Eyes have successive lines of defense; lashes block dirt, tears wash it away, and lower lid glands produce oil, which
Page 10 of 16
mixes with water from the air to form a protective film, and a bactericide to fight infection. Dirt and germs flush into
the nose.
Blinking makes the protective system efficient. Blinking closes our eyes 30 min. a day, though less when we
concentrate.
Light enters through a 3-layered smooth-surfaced window, the cornea, the middle layer of which is tough and renews
itself weekly from inside out. Dead cells are carried away by tears.
Visible blood cells supply the whites of the eye with oxygen and nourishment but stop at the edge of the cornea.
The iris is the most distinctive. Its color and pattern, as unique as fingerprints, are inherited. In it are the muscles which
affect the pupil, adjusting it to the amount of light falling on it.
The smaller the pupil's opening the greater area in focus.
The iris is surrounded by water fluid which flows constantly through the pupil to bathe the cornea. The fluid is
replenished every 4 hours by glands behind the iris.
Inside the iris is the lens, which is held in place by fibers. It is ringed by muscles which squeeze to adjust its shape and
focus.
The lens becomes thicker to focus on near objects. In aging, its cells die off making focus harder, causing
nearsightedness.
Light rays are bent by the curvature of the front of the eye and pass through a clear jelly to focus upside down on the
retina. At the back, specialized cells soak up light and send electrical signals through the nerve cells to light receptors.
Two kinds of receptors are mixed together in the retina. Long thin rod cells see in dim light, but only in black and
white. Cone cells detect color but need more light.
In the middle of the retina is a crater, packed with cone cells to see the finest detail. Sunlight can burn these cells.
We see reflected red, green and blue light. Cones blend them.
Fibers do not connect to the hole in the center of the retina causing our blind spot The brain fills in that spot, as well as
turning the picture on our retina right side up.
Like all hunting animals, our eyes are at the front of the head so that we can see in three dimension and judge distance.
PROGRAM 9: DEFENSE AND REPAIR
Teachers are encouraged to preview the film before showing it in class
Even while Graham is lounging in front of the TV or lying outdoors on the grass, he is constantly under attack by
millions of enemies. This films shows how the body has developed a multitude of specialized cells to ward off the
attackers and repair the damage they cause.
Specific Terminology
Platelets
Bone marrow
Scavenger cells
Fleas
Yeast
Bacteria
Orifice/s
White cells
Mast cells
Mites
Typhus
Fungi
Streptococcus
Cilia
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Red cells
Histamines
Bed bugs
Plague
Microbes
Staphylococcus
Allergies
Immune system
Lymphatic system
Pus
UV radiation
Antibiotics
Scab
Viruses
Clot
Outline of Major Concepts:
The skin, a working first-aid kit, is the first line of defense. Bone marrow manufactures our defense and repair system.
In a wound, platelets are the first to react, plugging the opening. White blood cells mop up the dirt and kill infection.
Red cells form a clot to stop bleeding.
Mast cells erupt histamines which dilate vessels around the wound so that defense and repair cells can arrive faster.
Scavenger cells consume dirt which appears as pus and later as a scab. The cells will begin to knit together around the
wound to form new skin.
The enemies:
yDust mites feed off the dead skin we shed. Their dung pellets, which can kill, hang in the air and trigger asthma.
yBed bugs carry lice.
yFleas, from all kinds of animals, feed off human blood and spread typhus and the plague.
yYeast, fungi, mold, and bacteria multiply fast.
yTwo and a half pounds of bacteria reside in the intestines.
ySixteen million microbes per square inch reside in armpits, around pores and under dead skin cells.
Bacteria can be helpful by producing antibiotics, preventing harmful bugs from taking hold.
Staphylococcus and streptococcus microbes live on the skin.
Each orifice has its own protection; ear wax keeps out bugs and dirt, tears wash the eyes, nose hairs and mucous trap
bugs, and cilia protect the air ways.
Lungs are most vulnerable. Pollen and dust mites trigger allergies, asthma and hay fever.
Blood-sucking insects spread disease by injecting parasites which colonize in the liver, kidneys and brain.
Germs, our only remaining predators, are everywhere. Antibiotics kill germs but not viruses. Viruses cannot live long
without help. They hijack cells' control systems to copy themselves.
White cells are constantly on patrol. Antibodies attack virus cells by dissolving cell walls and killing them. Antibodies'
memory provides immunity but viruses change coats to fool antibodies.
PROGRAM 10: SEX
Teachers are encouraged to preview the film before showing it in class
The survival of the race is dependent upon our strong biological urge to reproduce. The purpose of sex is to shuffle and
combine our genes, insuring that humans will keep changing. Damien and Ruth are a young married couple in love.
Through them we see how our reproductive systems combine to provide the next generation.
Specific Terminology:
Sperm
Hormones
Pituitary gland
Gene/s
Penis
Erogenous zones
Ovary/ies
Estrogen
Testes
Genetic code
Erection
Climax
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Puberty
Testosterone
DNA
Genitals
Cervix
Prostate gland
Vagina
Chromosome/s
Ovary follicle
Cilia
Orgasm
Enzymes
Outline of Major Concepts:
Compared to other animals, humans are the only ones that procreate all year round, females the only ones who have
breasts when not feeding, and babies are relatively late developers.
Sperm is one of the smallest cells, yet carries all of the genetic information. The egg is the largest cell and is packed
with all of the nutrients that the cell will need to grow.
Woman is born with a lifetime supply of one million eggs; 300,000 will survive to puberty. She will have about 30
child- bearing years. Man is born with a sperm-producing factory.
The chance of even one sperm's successful impregnation is poor. The chance of conception each month is about 1 in 4.
The hormones, estrogen and testosterone, are produced at puberty. They are chemical messengers which change our
bodies and mental outlook.
Every 28 days the pituitary sends a hormone to a woman's reproductive system triggering an egg to escape the ovary.
The sperm's head is packed with DNA, the genetic code.
The skin is the most important organ in sexual arousal, especially its erogenous zones; lips, breasts and genitals. Blood
flow is faster, genitals are lubricated, heart rate quickens, blood to the penis causes erection, and sperm develops the
ability to swim and is fortified by secretions from the prostate gland.
Sperm races against many obstacles, especially the vagina's acids and rough surface and the cervix's narrow opening.
Mucous in the cervix also blocks access but is less dense for two days each month. It also cleans bacteria from the
sperm.
Activated by hormones the fallopian tube searches for and picks up the egg. Cilia sweep it along. The egg has 48 hours
in which to meet sperm.
Inside the womb, sperm survivors form a pack assisting one another. The womb supplies nutrients and enzymes which
aid in the sperm's penetration. One sperm's penetration causes the egg to explode enzymes which prevent any other's
entry.
Within hours the two packets of genes join at the egg's center. Chromosomes combine then split apart and the cell
divides.
By the seventh day the fertilized egg, now an embryo, begins burrowing into the womb's wall.
PROGRAM 11: THE HUMAN PUMP
Teachers are encouraged to preview the film before showing it in class
The heart is not an emotional organ; it is simply a pump and a garbage collector. But it is pump that delivers the river
of life to every cell in our bodies. This delivery of blood includes food, water and other chemicals, but the most
important item is oxygen which every cell must have to survive. As Miguel and Nubia tango we see the heart working
at rest and play.
Specific Terminology:
Oxygen
Cyte/s
Auricle/s
Vessel/s
Pacemaker
Ventricle/s
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Hemoglobin
Valve/s
Capillary/ies
Mitral valve
Kidney/ies
Vein/s
Aorta
Artery/ies
Carbon dioxide
Coronary arteries
Ureters
Outline of Basic Concepts:
The body's 100,000 miles of vessels carry blood to 60 billion cells, tissues and organs, from one mph to 1/1000 mph.
At rest one circulation takes 1 min. When we are active, needing more oxygen, the circuit takes 10 sec. The heart
pumps 30 pts./ min.
Twenty-five billion oxygen-bearing cells give blood its color. Out numbering others 40 to 1, they contain hemoglobin.
Lungs are interlaced with capillaries which transmit oxygen through tiny sacs' walls to the hemoglobin.
The heart, the only organ whose working we feel, is in the middle of the chest but the strongest beat is on the left-at rest
70 beats/minute, 100,000 beats/day, pumping 1/5 pt. per beat.
Coordinated by a bundle of nerve cells, the pacemaker, electrical currents sweep across the heart's extraordinary muscle
cells which speed or slow depending upon the body's messages.
Strong emotions (love or fear), as well as activity, stir the heart. Valves divide the heart into 4 chambers, 2 pairs with 2
separate pumps. One pump forces oxygen-depleted blood to the lungs, the other to the body. Valves guarantee a oneway blood flow.
The process begins in the left auricle where blood is squeezed by the stronger muscle through the mitral valve into the
left ventricle and is then pumped to the largest artery, the aorta, then to the branching arteries, eventually reaching
capillaries, some of which are only one cell wide. It is here where the exchange takes place. Valves snapping shut after
blood passes produce the sound.
Blood can be re-routed when there is a problem by cells which change shape at arterial junctions to re-direct.
The brain, hungry for oxygen, receives a large amount of blood. Another main junction is to the kidney which filters
out impurities flushing them out through Ureters as urine.
Returning blood flows from the capillaries back through veins, flowing more slowly than outgoing blood because of
less pressure. The veins, which have no muscles, are wider to equalize flow with the outgoing. Volume of returning
blood is three times the outgoing. Valves prevent a downward back-up. Breathing forces blood back during the last part
of the journey.
The right auricle collects the returning blood from the head, heart and body and sends it to the right ventricle where the
weaker pump sends it back to the lungs. There carbon dioxide is replaced with new oxygen.
PROGRAM 12: NOW HEAR THIS
Teachers are encouraged to preview the film before showing it in class
The ear is a triumph of bionics-a union of acoustics, mechanics, hydraulics, electronics, and miniaturization. It has two
major separate functions to perform. It is the most essential organ for Zita, an international gymnast. Her ear is the
entrance to her brain for the music which she translates into rhythmic and graceful movement. It also is the system
which maintains her balance.
Specific Terminology:
Cochlea
Middle ear
Stirrup
Organ of corti
Acoustics
Vocal cord
Ear canal
Hammer
Oval window
Loudness
Frequency/ies
Timbre
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Eardrum
Anvil
Inner ear
Pitch
Voice box
Mucous
Outline of Major Concepts:
The ear can distinguish millions of sounds, more than any other animal. It can position a sound and sort out one from a
group.
Direction finding requires two ears, with sound being received by each at slightly different times. One's ears are not
mirror images of one another.
An ear's convolutions are as individual as a fingerprint with it ridges and folds amplifying and diminishing sounds and
channeling them down the one-inch ear canal.
The ear drum, our only barrier to the outside, vibrates with each sound. Vibrations are carried through an air-filled
cavity, the middle ear, to three tiny bones, hammer, anvil and stirrup. The stirrup, the size of a grain of rice, is our
smallest bone.
These bones, the only ones which do not grow, magnify pressure 20 times. They also protect our inner ear where our
two tiniest muscles restrain vibrations from especially loud sounds.
The middle ear has problems when pressure is altered as with altitude change. These distortions send pain messages to
the brain. Pressure is equalized via an air passage from the throat.
Sound waves in the middle ear activate the stirrup which presses on a thin membrane, the oval window. Behind it are
fluid-filled cavities of the inner ear. Sound resonates through a salty fluid filling the pea-sized cochlea.
The cochlea is our microphone. The organ or corti spirals up through the cochlea where tiny bristles transform
vibrations into electrical signals coded for loudness and pitch.
As we age, the bristles begin to wear out, high frequencies first. We distinguish words long before we can speak.
Speech develops rapidly during our second year, up to 2000 words.
Sound, transmitted by air waves, begins in the voice box where two vocal cords shape them. Vibrations' speed controls
pitch. Timbre is caused by air resonating in cavities behind the face.
Vocal cords grow from 1/4 in. at birth to 1 in. in an adult male.
Moving fluid in three inner ear tubes tell the brain how the head is moving so that the brain can balance the body.
A second balance organ responds to gravity. Miniscule chalk crystals immersed in mucous settle to the lowest part of
the cavity signaling to brain the body's orientation.
PROGRAM 13: THE BRAIN
Teachers are encouraged to preview the film before showing it in class
The brain is the pinnacle of evolution, a small complex intelligence-gathering system whose mental reach can
encompass the entire universe. It is the only object which is aware of its own existence, can think in the abstract, and
build knowledge through generations. The film studies the brain as we view Brian and his classmates at school.
Specific Terminology:
Spinal cord
Cerebrum
Australopithecus
Sensory cortex
Oxygen
Cerebellum
Hemisphere/s
Short-term memory
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Sugar
Homo Erectus
Cortex
Long-term memory
Outline of Major Concepts:
The brain, weighing only three pounds, contains billions of nerve cells controlling ten trillion nerves.
One pint of blood per minute supplies, via a dense network of vessels, oxygen and sugar, the brain's fuel. Cells
deprived of oxygen die rapidly; permanent damage occurs after 2 minutes.
The brain requires ten watts of energy and sends electrical energy along the spinal cord to cells. There are gaps in
nerves which allow signals to jump to thousands of alternative routes.
The nervous system begins to develop after three weeks and develops rapidly over the first two months, 1/4 million
nerves per minute. In four months all 14 billion nerves have formed.
Experience and learning fill in the connections and the brain coordinates them. As we learn we re-wire the brain's
structure. All parts are connected by bundles of nerve fibers; each repeated signal strengthening the connection. This
flexibility is the secret of our success as a species.
The skull contains eight bones allowing the brain to grow.
Thinking takes place in the front of the brain. Through evolution the front of the human brain has become much larger.
Deep inside is the early primitive cerebellum which keeps the body in balance and the heart and lungs working. Our
cerebellum is the most complicated in the animal kingdom, probably because we must balance on two legs.
Evolving over five million years, the brain reached its present size 130,000 years ago but it took 100,000 of those years
to reach its present mental capacity.
Cells we use to think form a 1/8 in. thick layer, the cortex, over the outside of the brain. Its surface keeps crumpling to
keep the brain from outgrowing the skull.
The brain is divided in two hemispheres. The left thinks logically in words and controls the right side of the body; the
right thinks in images and feelings and controls the left side. They are connected by dense nerves which mirror each
other exchanging information. The left usually resolves any conflict.
The sensory cortex, where feeling is entered, commands a disproportionate number of nerve cells, touch having the
most.
How the cortex ties senses together into images is not known.
The brain selects what it retains and stores it in short-term or long-term memory. Repetition will move information to
long-term. We do not know how memory recall works.
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