Mandani, Kimberly Ann C.

BSPT-2

1. Given your knowledge in anatomy, what characters unique to chordates are present in

humans? How have they been modified?

a. Notochord (as an embryo)
As an embryo, humans have a notochord to provide skeletal support. But as the
fetus develops, jointed skeleton develops. In human adults, the notochord is
reduced to gelatinous disks sandwiched between the vertebrae.
So we still keep our "notochords" but they're actually transformed into the disks
in our spine to cushion our joints.
b. Post-anal Tail (during embryonic stage)
An extension of the body that runs past the anal opening.
2. The tissue and organs in the human body possess recognizable size, shape and position

relative to other structure, how would these feature compare to other animals and
other vertebrae?
As adults, humans can regenerate some organs, such as the liver. Unfortunately
many other human tissues dont regenerate, and a goal in regenerative medicine is to
find ways to kick-start tissue regeneration in the body, or to engineer replacement
tissues.
There are many animals that can regenerate complex body parts with full function
and form after amputation or injury. Invertebrates can regenerate both the head from a
tail piece, and the tail from a head piece. Among vertebrates fish can regenerate parts
of the brain, eye, kidney, heart and fins.

3. What are the superior and inferior region in the human body, how would you compare

to the anterior and to posterior region in fish?

The head end of the body is referred to as the superior end, while the feet end is
the inferior end in the human body. In fishes, their anterior region is related to the front
portion. The posterior region is towards the hind end of the fish.

4. What developmental features in human are similar to those of other craniates?

Craniates have skull like humans. Skull is a bony structure in the head of most
vertebrates that supports the structures of the face and forms a protective cavity for the
brain.
They also possess mandible, the lower jaw of a vertebrate animal. In humans,
the mandible or inferior maxillary bone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the
face. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place.

5. Distinguish homology and homoplasty? What is the relationship of this term in analogy?

Homology is the existence of shared ancestry between a pair of structures, or genes,

in different species while Homoplasty is the character shared by a set of species but not
present in their common ancestor.
Homology and Analogy works the same way. Some traits shared by two living things
were inherited from their ancestor, and some similarities evolved in other ways.
Homoplasty is more of a general term, while Analogy points to specific things that are
alike. That is, homoplasty includes analogous structures as examples of convergent
evolution, parallelism, etc.