GALL BLADDER

The gall bladder functions to concentrate and store bile. It is a hollow, pear shaped organ with walls composed of three layers: a mucosa , muscularis externa , and adventitia (serosa). Notice the very tall, simple columnar epithelium of the mucosa which is thrown into numerous villus-like folds . The lamina propria of the mucosa is highly vascular with no lymphatics. Note the arrangement of the smooth muscle in the muscularis externa with longitudinal fibers closer to the lamina propria and circular fibers more peripheral (no muscularis mucosa or submucosa exists).

If fertilization and implantation occurs, the follicle will develop into the corpus luteum, "yellow body". The name is based historically upon its histological appearance, the yellow colour due to the high level of steoidogenesis

occuring to support the pregnancy and prevent menses. The main steroidal hormone produced by the corpus luteum is progesterone.

VEINS The capillaries formed by the arterioles continue as carriers of deoxygenated blood as they carry the waste products that have diffused in from the cells. These capillaries join together to form venules. The venules join together and form bigger vessels called the veins. The veins and venules are also lined by smooth muscles. However, the walls of the veins are not as thick as those of arteries. All the veins of the upper body except the pulmonary vein join together to form the superior vena cava and the veins of the lower body join together to form the inferior vena cava. These two veins pour their blood into the right auricle through separate openings. The pulmonary vein brings the blood from the lungs to the heart. Thus, the blood vessels that bring the blood to the heart are called the veins. The veins carry deoxygenated blood except for the pulmonary vein that carries oxygenated blood from the lungs. The blood drawn from the veins is dark red in colour. The blood moves in the veins towards the heart by the action of the muscles in its walls and skeletal muscles around them. The skeletal muscles are more active during exercise. The veins all along their length have valves that prevent the backflow of blood. This is because the veins have fewer muscles to propel the blood more forcefully. NEURO VASCULAR BUNDLES The long axons of neurons along with the associated structures are called the nerve fibres. The fibres may be enclosed within sheaths called as myelin sheath. However, the action potential is not generated in the areas where there is a sheath over the fibre. Along the fibres there are regions where the myelin sheath is absent. These regions are called the nodes of Ranvier. The action potential jumps from one node to the other.

Many nerve fibres are bunched together to form a nerve. The bundles of fibres are enclosed within connective tissue called the epineurium THYMUS The thymus gland is situated in the upper chest near the front side of the heart. It is pinkishgrey in colour and consists of two lobes. At birth the gland is quite small, weighting about 10 grams, and increases in size in the adult. It is composed of tiny lobules held together by connective tissue. It is also called as "the throne of immunity" or traning school of T-lymphocyte. Thymus secretes a hormone named thymosin. It accelerates cell division, thus influencing the rate of growth during early life. It stimulates the proliferation and maturation of T-lymphocytes, increasing resistance to infection. It also hastens attainment of sexual maturity. Its production decreases with advancing age and entirely cases by about 50 years. OVARIES Human ovaries are a pair of almond shaped structures about 3cm long, 1.5cm wide lying one on either side of the vertebral column in the abdominal cavity. Each ovary is attached to the dorsal abdominal wall by a mesentery called mesovarium. Each ovary is covered by a layer of germinal epithelium. During embryonic life, the cells of the germinal epithelium proliferate thousands of primordial follicles. The stroma is composed of fibrous connective tissue which is differentiated into outer cortex and inner medulla. The cortex contains thousands of tiny undeveloped ovarian follicles. Medulla contains only blood vessels and nerve fibres.

A fully mature ovarian follicle is called a Graafian follicle. It has an outer multilayered membrana granulosa formed of 2 - 3 layers of follicle cells. The oocyte is surrounded by a vitelline membrane, zona radiata and corona radiata. The oocyte is attached to the membrana granulosa by a group of cells called discus proligerus. The graafian follicle has a follicular cavity or antrum filled with a colourless follicular fluid. The fluid is termed as liquor folicelli. In human female, on an average every 28 days one graafian follicle matures and ruptures releasing an ovum. After this the follicle turns into the corpus luteum made up of large conical yellowish cells. Corpus luteum serves as a temporary endocrine gland, by releasing female sex hormones namely progesterone and estrogen. Ovary Histology In a normal adult female, there are nearly four lakh follicles present in the two ovaries. Of them only one ovum matures and is liberated in each menstrual cycle by alternate ovaries. Others undergo regression and disappear due to death, during the reproductive years of the females. This phenomenon is referred to as follicular atresia. The maturation of the graafian follicle is under the control of the FSH and LH (Follicle Secreting Hormone and Luetinising Hormone). The interstitial cells of the ovary secrete the hormone estrogen. The progesterone is secreted by the corpus luteum. Cerebrum It is the largest part of the brain and is made up of two hemispheres called the cerebral hemispheres. The two hemispheres are joined together by a thick band of fibres called the corpus callosum. The cerebrum is made up of four distinct lobes - frontal, parietal, temporal and occipetal.

The outer portion of the cerebrum is called the cortex and the inner part is called the medulla. The cortex consists of the cells of the neurons and appears grey in colour. It is also called the grey matter. The medulla consists of the fibres of the neurons and is white. The cortex is highly convoluted which increase the surface area. It is believed that higher the number of convolutions, higher is the intelligence. The cerebrum has sensory areas, association areas and motor areas. The sensory areas receive the messages, the association areas associate this information with the previous and other sensory informations and the motor areas are responsible of the action of the voluntary muscles. Cerebrum is responsible for the intelligence, thinking, memory, consciousness and will power. Lacrymal glands They are also called the tear glands as they produce secretion called tears. The lacrymal glands are present one on the outer upper border of each eye. The lacrymal secretion is watery, alkaline and carries out the following functions i) ii) iii) iv) cleans the eyes ii) keeps the eyes moist iii) keeps the eyes free of bateria as it contains bacteriolytic lysozyme iv) provides nutrition to the cornea.

GALL BLADDER It is a small sac-like elongated organ near the liver. The excess bile juice is stored in the gall bladder. It is connected to the liver by a duct called the cystic duct. If there is no food in the intestine, the bile juice flows into the gall bladder and is stored there. It is pumped out by the

muscular contraction of the gall bladder wall when the food comes into the small intestine. The cystic duct opens into the common bile duct which opens into the small intestine LIVER Liver is the largest gland and is found in the upper part of the abdomen on the right side of the body just below the diaphragm. Its secretion is called bile juice. It is alkaline and rich in organic salts called the bile salts. The alkaline nature serves to neutralize the acidic pH of the gastric juice and creates the right environment for the intestinal enzymes to function. The bile salts act on the fats and emulsify them (breaking them into small globules) which increases their surface area. The bile juice is greenish yellow in colour due to the pigments called the bilirubin and biliverdin. These pigments are formed from the worn out and dead red blood cells. Thus, bile juice has an excretory function as it serves to remove the wastes from the blood stream. The bile juice is secreted out of the liver through hepatic ducts which then continue as common bile duct. It goes into the duodenum of the small intestine. But if there is no food in the small intestine, it is passed along the cystic duct into the gall bladder. The latter is the storage organ for excess bile. About 1litre of bile is produced by the liver daily. Functions of Liver The liver is an important organ in the body, in addition to being a digestive gland. Its importance can be understood by listing its functions which are as follows: It produces bile which helps in digestion of fats and lipids It converts glucose to glycogen and helps to control the level of sugar in blood

It carries out deamination of excess amino acids. The resultant ammonia is converted to harmless urea and transported to the kidneys. The carboxylic acids remaining from the amino acids are converted to glucose. It acts as a storehouse for fats, glucose, vitamins A,D,E and K, iron and copper It stores water and thus regulates the fluid balance in the blood It produces red blood cells in the embryos. In adults, it destroys old red blood cells. The new ones are synthesised in the bone marrow. It produces the clotting factor fibrinogen It produces an anti-coagulant called heparin It metabolises the toxic chemicals and renders them harmless after which they are excreted It is a site of many metabolic reactions that generates heat to maintain the body temperature

PROSTATE GLAND The prostate gland is of the size of a golf ball and is spongy in texture. These are compound tubular glands situated just below the urinary bladder. It secretes a thin alkaline substance that contributes to the largest part of the semen. It increases sperm motility and provides nutrition to the sperms.