Anatomy & Physiology Project Ideas

Anatomy and physiology are areas of biology that deal with the human body and how internal mechanisms work. The two are usually paired together, since the fields of study tends to overlap. Performing experiments is one way to gain a better understanding of anatomy and physiology. There are numerous anatomy and physiology project ideas out there that can be used for school or work.

A popular experimental subject is the cardiovascular system. This deals with the heart and blood. Testing blood pressure and heart rate is something that can be expanded into several different experiment ideas. Testing differences in heart rate and blood pressure across gender, age, and height are easy enough to do. You can also get more specific, such as testing the differences in heart rate among athletes and non-athletes, or testing the effects of caffeine on heart rate and blood pressure.

The eye is a complex organ and many experiments can be done to examine how eyes work. For instance, you can do an experiment testing the blind spot. The blind spot is a particular field of vision in which it is impossible to see objects. To test an individual's blind spot, you can use certain images spaced apart behind and to the side of a person's head, or move an image around to see just where the person's blind spot is.

You can also test how afterimaging works in the eye. An afterimage occurs when you watch an image for a certain period of time, then look away from it and see that image faintly on a wall or other surface. There are a variety of ways to test afterimaging. One way is to stare at a colored piece of paper for various amounts of time and then look away, using a stopwatch to record how long it takes for the afterimage to disappear. You can also test the size, shape and color of the afterimage using different shapes and images to stare at.

The lungs can be tested for capacity and functionality. Lung capacity is the amount of air that lungs can hold. This is usually tested using an air ball meter. Subjects take a deep breath and blow into the meter, measuring how high the person can push the ball with their exhalation. You can also test lung capacity in different genders, heights and age ranges, or among athletes versus non-athletes and musicians versus non-musicians. If you can't get an air ball meter, you can make your own tester for lung capacity using a balloon or water displacement.

Testing the human hair is also an important part of anatomy and physiology. Hair can be experimented on to test strength and composition. Hair dye tests can show how hair stands up to certain chemicals. Try testing hair elasticity before and after dye use, or test how length of time hair is submerged in dye affects the elasticity and strength of hair. You can also see how applying protein directly to hair affects the hair. Since hair is composed of protein, a topical application of protein could strengthen hair.