Certificate of Animal Anatomy and Physiology

Unit 1 – Cells and Tissues

• Livestock
• Livestock products
• Inter-relationship of livestock and crops
• Domestic pets
• Wildlife
• Cells and tissues
• The animal cell
• Parts of the animal cell
• Animal tissues
• Epithelial tissues
• Connective tissues
• Muscle tissues
• Nervous tissue
• Special properties of cells
• Osmosis and filtration
• Hydrostatic pressure
• Active transport
• Phagocytosis
• Electro-chemical gradient
• Nutrient and waste exchange in cells

Unit 2 – The Digestive System

• The digestive system
• Mouth, tongue, teeth and oesophagus
• The simple stomach
• Stomach lining
• The small intestine
• The large intestine
• The ruminant stomach
• Reticulum, rumen, omasum and abomasum
• Bird digestion
• Crop, proventriculus, gizzard
• Accessory organs of the digestive system
• Salivary glands
• Pancreas
• Liver
• Digestion, absorption, and utilisation in the simple stomach
• Physical or mechanical breakdown
• The actions of enzymes (chemical breakdown)
• Breakdown by micro-organisms
• Digestion, absorption and utilisation in the ruminant stomach
• Mechanical action
• Action of micro-organisms
• Absorption
• Utilisation of the end-products of digestion

Unit 3 – The Circulatory System

• The circulatory system
• Circulatory networks
• The composition of blood
• Plasma and blood platelets
• Red and white blood cells
• The functions of the blood
• Clotting mechanism (coagulation)
• Immunity
• The blood vessels
• Arteries
• Veins
• Capillaries
• The heart
• The physiology of the circulatory system
• Rates of heart beats (pulse rates)
• The spleen
• The lymphatic system

Unit 4 – The Urinary System

• The anatomy of the urinary system
• The kidneys
• The ureters
• The bladder
• The physiology of the urinary system
• Excretion and osmoregulation in different animals

Unit 5 – The Nervous System

• The nervous system
• Main parts of the nervous system:
• Neurones
• Sensory neurones
• Motor neurones
• The central nervous system (CNS)
• The brain
• The spinal cord
• The peripheral nervous system
• The cranial nerves
• Spinal nerves
• The autonomic nervous system
• Reflex actions
• The endocrine system
• Sensory organs
• The structure and function of the ear
• Hearing
• Overview of sound transmission in the ear
• The structure and function of the eye
• The iris
• The structure and function of the nose
• Common integument

Unit 6 – Respiration

• The anatomy of respiration
• The trachea
• The bronchial tree
• Lungs
• The physiology of respiration
• Gaseous exchange
• Rate and depth of breathing

Unit 7 – The Reproductive System

• Anatomy of the male reproductive system
• The testes
• The accessory organs
• The penis
• The physiology of the male reproductive system
• Hormone production
• Sperm production
• Erection
• Ejaculation
• Fertility problems in the male
• Venereal disease
• Other diseases
• Injury
• Physical immaturity
• Emotional immaturity
• Nutrition
• Poor handling
• The anatomy of the female reproductive system
• The ovaries
• The fallopian tubes or oviducts
• The uterus
• The cervix
• Physiology of the female reproductive system
• The oestrus cycle
• Ovulation
• Fertility problems
• Difficulty in conceiving
• “low-key” or irregular heats
• Venereal and other disease
• Physical abnormalities or immaturity
• Nutrition
• Inability to carry a foetus to full-term
• Pregnancy and parturition
• Fertilisation
• Pregnancy
• Parturition (birth of the young)
• The birth process
• Difficult births
• Structure of the mammary glands
• Secretion of milk
• Milk ejection
• Reproduction data for cows, sows & ewes

Unit 8 – Muscles and Meat

• Muscles and meat
• Smooth muscle
• Striated voluntary muscle
• Cardiac muscle
• The structure of meat
• Dressing-out percentage
• Meat quality
• Cuts and joints of meat

Unit 9 – The Skeleton

• Bones
• How bones are formed
• The anatomy of bone
• Fractures and fracture healing
• Types of bone
• Bone joints
• The skeleton
• Dentition
• The dental formula
• Cattle
• The dental formula of an ox or cow
• Eruption of permanent teeth
• Sheep
• Pigs
• Dentition in domestic animals
• Cats, dogs, rabbits and rodents

Unit 10 – Animal Growth, Development and the Endocrine System

• Growth and development
• Growth curve
• Pre-natal growth
• Growth of the ovum
• Growth of the embryo
• Growth of the foetus
• Post-natal growth
• animal fat
• Factors which affect the size of the newborn
• Factors affecting post-natal growth
• Earliness in maturity
• Compensatory growth
• The endocrine system
• The pituitary gland
• The thyroid
• The parathyroids
• The thymus
• The adrenal bodies
• The pancreas
• The testes
• The ovaries
• The pineal body
• The mucous membrane of the stomach
• The mucous membrane of the small intestine

Unit 11 – Comparing Different Animals

• Poultry
• Digestion
• Gullet
• Crop
• Proventriculus
• Gizzard (or ventriculus)
• Intestine
• Rectum, cloaca and vent
• Incubating eggs
• Natural incubation
• Selecting a broody hen
• Symptoms of a broody hen
• Differences – bird and mammal skeletons
• Fish
• Jawless fish
• Cartilaginous fish
• Bony fish
• Crustaceans