17. Why do you think elastic cartilage has a higher amount of elastic fibers than hyaline cartilage? Hint: Think of the location of the elastic cartilage.
18. Why do you think fibrocartilage is found in intervertebral discs? What would happen if bone was located where the intervertebral discs are? Hint: Think about movement.
19. If compact bone is tightly compacted, with a solid bone matrix, how do the osteocytes get nutrients and expel waste?
20. How does each component in blood contribute to its overall function? Hint: Pertaining mainly to erythrocytes, leukocytes, and thrombocytes.
21. Why do you think skeletal muscle is multinucleated? Hint: Think about the function of the nuclei.
22. Why would it be beneficial to have smooth muscle in the walls of internal organs? Hint: Think about its involuntary function.
23. Why do you think it is important for the muscle of the heart to all be communicating through gap junctions? Hint: Think of synchronization of the beating heart.
24. Why do you think some areas of the body (lips, for example) have a lot of neural connections?
25. Why do you think peripheral nerves have long neural processes?
26. How do you think Schwann cells (in the peripheral nervous system) and oligodendrocytes (in the central nervous system) aid in synaptic transmission?
27. Describe how the unique structure of a neuron relates to its function in the body.
28. The retina has two main types of photoreceptors: rods and cones. How do these two photoreceptors differ?
29. Trace the pathway of the developing spermatogonia to spermatozoa. What cells support and nourish the developing spermatogonia?
30. Oogenesis and spermatogenesis are both forms of meiosis. How do the two differ? Hint: Think about the number of gametes each process produces at the end of meiosis.
31. Why do you think blood from the legs going to the heart is able to get to the heart without a problem? Hint: What structure do veins have that arteries do not have?