Notes

Blood is the “river of life” that surges within us. It transports everything that must be carried from one place to another within the body- nutrients, wastes (headed for elimination from the body) and body heat through blood vessels. Long before modern medicine, blood was viewed as magical, because when it drained from the body, life departed as well.

Spina bifida is part of a group of birth defects called neural tube defects.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or attention deficit disorder (ADD), is a syndrome characterized by degrees of inattention, impulsive behavior, and hyperactivity.

Insulin is the hormone produced by the pancreatic beta cells of the islets of Langerhans.

Glucose-elevating agents raise blood level of glucose when severe hypoglycemia occurs at <40 mg/dL.

Sulfonylureas is another group of agent used to control blood glucose level.

Antidiabetic drugs are a group of drug structurally unrelated to sulfonylureas and are effective when used in combination with insulin or sulfonylureas.

The lymphatic system includes lymph, lymphocytes, lymphatic vessels, lymph nodes, tonsils, the spleen, and the thymus gland.

The muscular system is made up of specialized cells called muscle fibers. Their main function is contractibility. Muscles, connected to bones or internal organs and blood vessels, are in charge for movement. Almost every movement in the body is the outcome of muscle contraction.

Adrenergic agonists are autonomic nervous system drugs that stimulate the adrenergic receptors of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), either directly (by reacting with receptor sites) or indirectly (by increasing norepinephrine levels). An adrenergic agonist is also called a sympathomimetic because it stimulates the effects of SNS.