APHY 101 IVY TECH COMPREHENSIVE EXAM 2026
QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS SCORED A+
✔✔Transverse or horizontal plane - ✔✔Runs horizontally from right to left, dividing body
into superior and inferior parts.
✔✔Transverse section - ✔✔Aka cross section
✔✔Oblique sections - ✔✔Cut made diagonally between the horizontal and vertical
planes. Oblique sections seldom used.
✔✔Dorsal body cavity - ✔✔Protects the fragile nervous system organs, has two
subdivisions: cranial cavity and vertebral or spinal cavity.
✔✔Cranial cavity - ✔✔Skull, encased the brain.
✔✔Vertebral or spinal cavity - ✔✔Runs within the bony vertebral column, encloses the
delicate spinal cord.
✔✔Ventral body cavity - ✔✔Anterior and larger of the closed body cavities. Has two
major subdivisions: thoracic cavity and abdominopelvic cavity. Ventral body cavity
houses internal organs.
✔✔Viscera - ✔✔Internal organs, aka visceral organs.
✔✔Thoracic cavity - ✔✔Superior subdivision, surrounded by the ribs and muscles of the
chest.
✔✔The thoracic cavity is divided into how many cavities? - ✔✔Two: (1) lateral pleural
cavities each enveloping a lung, and the (2) medial mediastinum which encloses the
heart and surrounds the remaining thoracic organs (esophagus, trachea and others).
✔✔Pericardial cavity - ✔✔Inside the mediastinum and encloses the heart and surrounds
the remaining thoracic organs (esophagus, trachea and others).
✔✔Abdominopelvic cavity - ✔✔Has two parts. The superior portion, the abdominal
cavity, contains the stomach, intestines, spleen, liver, and other organs. The inferior
part, the pelvic cavity, lies in the bony pelvis and contains the urinary bladder, some
reproductive organs, and the rectum.
✔✔Serosa or serous membrane - ✔✔Thin, double-layered membrane that covers the
walls of the ventral body cavity and the outer surfaces of the organs it contains.
✔✔Parietal serosa - ✔✔The part of the membrane lining the cavity walls.
, ✔✔Visceral serosa - ✔✔Covers the organs in the cavity.
✔✔Serous fluid - ✔✔Lubricating fluid that separates serous membranes. Fluid is
secreted by membranes. Allows organs to slide without friction across cavity walls.
Especially important for mobile organs such as the pumping heart.
✔✔Oral and digestive cavities - ✔✔The oral cavity, commonly called the mouth,
contains the teeth and tongue. The cavity is part of and continuous with the cavity of the
digestive organs, which opens to the body exterior at the anus.
✔✔Nasal cavity - ✔✔Located within and posterior to the nose, the nasal cavity is part of
the respiratory system passageways.
✔✔Orbital cavities - ✔✔The orbital cavities (orbits) in the skull house the eyes and
present them in an anterior position.
✔✔Middle ear cavities - ✔✔Located in the skull and lie just medial to the eardrum.
These cavities contain tiny bones that transmit sound vibrations to the hearing receptors
in the inner ears.
✔✔Synovial cavities - ✔✔Joint cavities. They are enclosed within fibrous capsules that
surround freely movable joints of the body (ex elbow and knee joints).
✔✔Physiology is explained by... - ✔✔Chemical and physical principles.
✔✔The body contains how many major closed cavities? - ✔✔Two: dorsal & ventral
✔✔Abdominopelvic cavity may be divided into: - ✔✔4 planes into 9 abdominopelvic
regions, or by 2 planes into 4 quadrants
✔✔ Anatomy - ✔✔Studies the structure of body parts and their relationships to one
another.
✔✔Physiology - ✔✔Concerns the function of the body, in other words, how the body
parts work and carry out their life sustaining activities. Often focuses on cellular and
molecular level.
✔✔Gross or Macroscopic Anatomy - ✔✔Study of large body structures visible to naked
eye (ex: heart, lungs, kidneys).
✔✔Regional Anatomy - ✔✔All structures in a particular region of the body, ex:
abdomen, leg
QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS SCORED A+
✔✔Transverse or horizontal plane - ✔✔Runs horizontally from right to left, dividing body
into superior and inferior parts.
✔✔Transverse section - ✔✔Aka cross section
✔✔Oblique sections - ✔✔Cut made diagonally between the horizontal and vertical
planes. Oblique sections seldom used.
✔✔Dorsal body cavity - ✔✔Protects the fragile nervous system organs, has two
subdivisions: cranial cavity and vertebral or spinal cavity.
✔✔Cranial cavity - ✔✔Skull, encased the brain.
✔✔Vertebral or spinal cavity - ✔✔Runs within the bony vertebral column, encloses the
delicate spinal cord.
✔✔Ventral body cavity - ✔✔Anterior and larger of the closed body cavities. Has two
major subdivisions: thoracic cavity and abdominopelvic cavity. Ventral body cavity
houses internal organs.
✔✔Viscera - ✔✔Internal organs, aka visceral organs.
✔✔Thoracic cavity - ✔✔Superior subdivision, surrounded by the ribs and muscles of the
chest.
✔✔The thoracic cavity is divided into how many cavities? - ✔✔Two: (1) lateral pleural
cavities each enveloping a lung, and the (2) medial mediastinum which encloses the
heart and surrounds the remaining thoracic organs (esophagus, trachea and others).
✔✔Pericardial cavity - ✔✔Inside the mediastinum and encloses the heart and surrounds
the remaining thoracic organs (esophagus, trachea and others).
✔✔Abdominopelvic cavity - ✔✔Has two parts. The superior portion, the abdominal
cavity, contains the stomach, intestines, spleen, liver, and other organs. The inferior
part, the pelvic cavity, lies in the bony pelvis and contains the urinary bladder, some
reproductive organs, and the rectum.
✔✔Serosa or serous membrane - ✔✔Thin, double-layered membrane that covers the
walls of the ventral body cavity and the outer surfaces of the organs it contains.
✔✔Parietal serosa - ✔✔The part of the membrane lining the cavity walls.
, ✔✔Visceral serosa - ✔✔Covers the organs in the cavity.
✔✔Serous fluid - ✔✔Lubricating fluid that separates serous membranes. Fluid is
secreted by membranes. Allows organs to slide without friction across cavity walls.
Especially important for mobile organs such as the pumping heart.
✔✔Oral and digestive cavities - ✔✔The oral cavity, commonly called the mouth,
contains the teeth and tongue. The cavity is part of and continuous with the cavity of the
digestive organs, which opens to the body exterior at the anus.
✔✔Nasal cavity - ✔✔Located within and posterior to the nose, the nasal cavity is part of
the respiratory system passageways.
✔✔Orbital cavities - ✔✔The orbital cavities (orbits) in the skull house the eyes and
present them in an anterior position.
✔✔Middle ear cavities - ✔✔Located in the skull and lie just medial to the eardrum.
These cavities contain tiny bones that transmit sound vibrations to the hearing receptors
in the inner ears.
✔✔Synovial cavities - ✔✔Joint cavities. They are enclosed within fibrous capsules that
surround freely movable joints of the body (ex elbow and knee joints).
✔✔Physiology is explained by... - ✔✔Chemical and physical principles.
✔✔The body contains how many major closed cavities? - ✔✔Two: dorsal & ventral
✔✔Abdominopelvic cavity may be divided into: - ✔✔4 planes into 9 abdominopelvic
regions, or by 2 planes into 4 quadrants
✔✔ Anatomy - ✔✔Studies the structure of body parts and their relationships to one
another.
✔✔Physiology - ✔✔Concerns the function of the body, in other words, how the body
parts work and carry out their life sustaining activities. Often focuses on cellular and
molecular level.
✔✔Gross or Macroscopic Anatomy - ✔✔Study of large body structures visible to naked
eye (ex: heart, lungs, kidneys).
✔✔Regional Anatomy - ✔✔All structures in a particular region of the body, ex:
abdomen, leg
