Nursing entrance exams
HESI A2 Anatomy and Physiology Study Guide
Anatomy and physiology questions become easier when you connect location, structure, function, and regulation. Your nursing program determines which HESI A2 sections it requires, so confirm that anatomy and physiology is included before setting your schedule.
Begin with organization and homeostasis
Review how cells form tissues, organs, and systems. Understand negative feedback as the body’s common method of maintaining stable internal conditions, and practise identifying the receptor, control center, and effector in an example.
Study cardiovascular and respiratory systems together
Trace blood through the heart, pulmonary circulation, and systemic circulation. Connect ventilation and gas exchange to oxygen transport, carbon dioxide removal, and cellular demand.
- Heart chambers, valves, and major vessels
- Electrical conduction and cardiac output
- Airway structures and alveolar exchange
- Pressure changes during breathing
Connect digestion, metabolism, and urinary regulation
Follow food from ingestion through digestion and absorption, noting the roles of accessory organs. Then connect nutrient use and waste production to kidney filtration, reabsorption, secretion, and fluid balance.
Compare nervous and endocrine control
The nervous system communicates rapidly through electrical and chemical signals, while the endocrine system uses hormones for often slower, longer-lasting effects. Learn feedback relationships rather than memorizing glands as an isolated list.
- Central and peripheral nervous systems
- Somatic and autonomic divisions
- Major endocrine glands and hormones
- Feedback regulation and target tissues
Review remaining systems through interactions
Connect muscles to bones and movement, skin to protection and temperature, immunity to defense, and reproductive structures to hormonal control. Use blank diagrams and system-comparison tables, then test yourself without labels.