Human Body

Systems
 QUESTIONS
Define anatomy and physiology,
and name several subspecialties
of these sciences.
 DEFINATION
Anatomy is the science of body
structures and the relationships among
them.
Physiology is the science of body
functions—how the body parts work.
Table 1.1 describes several
subspecialties of anatomy and
physiology.
LEVELS OF STRUCTURAL
ORGANISATION
Describe the levels of structural
organization that make up the
human body.
Levels of Organization in the
Body
Chemicals
Cells
Tissues
◦ Epithelial, connective, muscular, nervous
Organs
◦ Examples include stomach, liver, heart
Organ Systems
◦ Examples include digestive and
circulatory systems
◦ Organism levels
 Chemical level
This very basic level includes atoms, the
smallest units of matter that participate in
chemical reactions, and molecules, two or
more atoms joined together.
Certain atoms, such as carbon (C), hydrogen
(H), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P),
calcium (Ca), and sulfur (S), are essential for
maintaining life. Two familiar molecules found in
the body are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the
genetic material passed from one generation to
the next, and glucose, commonly known as
blood sugar
Cellular level
Molecules combine to form cells, the
basic structural and functional units of
an organism.
Cells are the smallest living units in the
human body.
Among the many kinds of cells in your
body are muscle cells, nerve cells, and
epithelial cells.
Figure 1.1 shows a smooth muscle cell,
one of the three types of muscle cells
in the body.
 Tissue level.
Tissues are groups of cells and the
materials surrounding them that work
together to perform a particular
function.
There are just four basic types of tissue
in your body: epithelial tissue,
connective tissue, muscular tissue, and
nervous tissue.
Tissues in the Human
Body
Epithelial
◦ Covering or lining tissue
Bloo
Connective d

◦ Joins, stores and supports

Muscle
Muscle
◦ Internal and external movement
Nerve
◦ Conducts electrical signals Nerve
Organ level
At this level different types of tissues are
joined together.
organs are structures that are
composed of two or more different types
of tissues; they have specific functions
and usually have recognizable shapes.
Examples of organs are the stomach,
skin, bones, heart, liver, lungs, and brain.
Figure 1.1 shows how several tissues
make up the stomach..
System level
A system consists of related organs .
 An example of the system level, also called the
organ-system level, is the digestive system,
which breaks down and absorbs food.
 Its organs include the mouth, salivary glands,
pharynx (throat), esophagus, stomach, small
intestine, large intestine, liver, gallbladder, and
pancreas.
 Sometimes an organ is part of more than one
system.
 The pancreas, for example, is part of both the
digestive system and the hormone- producing
endocrine system.
SYSTEMS OF THE BODY
Listthe 11 systems of the human
body, representative organs
present in each, and their general
functions.
Human Organ Systems
Skeletal Muscular
Circulatory Immune
Respiratory Digestive
Excretory Reproductive
Nervous Endocrine
Integumentary
INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM
Components: Skin and structures associated with it, such as
hair, nails, sweat glands, and oil glands.
Functions: Protects the body; helps regulate body
temperature; eliminates
some wastes; helps make vitamin D; and detects sensations
such as touch, pain, warmth, and cold.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LIVING
HUMAN ORGANISM
Define the important life
processes of the human body.
Basic Life Processes

 Metabolism is the sum of all the chemical

processes that occur in the body.
 One phase of metabolism is catabolism the
breakdown of complex chemical substances
into simpler components.
 The other phase of metabolism is anabolism ,
the building up of complex chemical substances
from smaller, simpler components.
 For example, digestive processes catabolize
(split) proteins in food into amino acids.
 These amino acids are then used to anabolize
(build) new proteins that make up body
structures such as muscles and bones.
Basic Life Processes

 Responsiveness is the body’s ability to detect and

respond to changes.
 For example, a decrease in body temperature
represents a change in the internal environment
(within the body), and turning your head toward the
sound of squealing brakes is a response to change
in the external environment (outside the body).
 Different cells in the body respond to environmental
changes in characteristic ways.
 Nerve cells respond by generating electrical signals
known as nerve impulses (action potentials).
 Muscle cells respond by contracting, which
generates force to move body parts.
Basic Life Processes

 Movement includes motion of the whole body,

individual organs, single cells, and even tiny
structures inside cells.
 For example, the coordinated action of leg muscles
moves your whole body from one place to another
when you walk or run.
 After you eat a meal that contains fats, your
gallbladder contracts and squirts bile into the
gastrointestinal tract to aid in the digestion of fats.
 When a body tissue is damaged or infected, certain
white blood cells move from the blood into the
affected tissue to help clean up and repair the area.
 Inside the cell, various parts move from one
position to another to carry out their functions.
Basic Life Processes

Growth is an increase in body size that

results from an increase in the size of
existing cells, an increase in the
number of cells, or both.
In addition, a tissue sometimes
increases in size because the amount
of material between cells increases.
In a growing bone, for example, mineral
deposits accumulate between bone
cells, causing the bone to grow in
length and width.
 Basic Life Processes

Differentiation is the development of a cell

from an unspecialized to a specialized state.
For example, red blood cells and several types of
white blood cells all arise from the same
unspecialized precursor cells in red bone marrow.
Such precursor cells, which can divide and give
rise to cells that undergo differentiation, are
known as stem cells.
Also through differentiation, a fertilized egg
(ovum) develops into an embryo, and then into a
fetus, an infant, a child, and finally an adult.
 Basic Life Processes
 Reproduction refers either to the formation of new
cells for tissue growth, repair, or replacement, or to
the production of a new individual.
 In humans, the former process occurs continuously
throughout life, which continues from one
generation to the next through the latter process,
the fertilization of an ovum by a sperm cell.
 When the life processes cease to occur properly, the
result is death of cells and tissues, which may lead
to death of the organism.
 Clinically, loss of the heartbeat, absence of
spontaneous breathing, and loss of brain functions
indicate death in the human body .
HOMEOSTASIS

 Homeostasis is the condition of equilibrium

(balance) in the body’s internal environment due to
the constant interaction of the body’s many
regulatory processes.
 Homeostasis is a dynamic condition.
 In response to changing conditions, the body’s
equilibrium can shift among points in a narrow range
that is compatible with maintaining life.
 For example, the level of glucose in blood normally
stays between 70 and 110 milligrams of glucose per
100 milliliters of blood.
 Each structure, from the cellular level to the
systemic level, contributes in some way to keeping
the internal environment of the body within normal
limits.
Homeostasis and Body Fluids

 An important aspect of homeostasis is maintaining the

volume and composition of body fluids, dilute, watery
solutions containing dissolved chemicals that are found
inside cells as well as surrounding them.
 The fluid within cells is intracellular fluid (intra-
inside), abbreviated ICF.
 The fluid outside body cells is extracellular fluid
(extra- outside), abbreviated ECF.
 The ECF that fills the narrow spaces between cells of
tissues is known as interstitial fluid .
 ECF within blood vessels is termed blood plasma,
within lymphatic vessels it is called lymph, in and
around the brain and spinal cord it is known as
cerebrospinal fluid, in joints it is referred to as
synovial fluid, and the ECF of the eyes is called
aqueous humor and vitreous body.
Homeostasis:
Regulating the Internal Environment
A controlled, stable internal
environment
Gains and losses must balance
Control systems
◦ Receptor, control center, effector
◦ Feedback loops
 Negative feedback
 Positive feedback
Receptor
A receptor is a body structure that
monitors changes in a controlled
condition and sends input to a control
center.
Typically, the input is in the form of
nerve impulses or chemical signals.
For example, certain nerve endings in
the skin sense temperature and can
detect changes, such as a dramatic
drop in
temperature.
Control center
A control center in the body, for example, the
brain, sets the range of values within which a
controlled condition should be maintained,
evaluates the input it receives from receptors,
and generates output commands when they
are needed.
Output from the control center typically occurs
as nerve impulses, or hormones or other
chemical signals. In our skin temperature.
 example, the brain acts as the control center,
receiving nerve impulses from the skin
receptors and generating nerve impulses as
output
Effector
An effector is a body structure that receives
output from the control center and
produces a response or effect that changes
the controlled condition.
Nearly every organ or tissue in the body
can behave as an effector.
When your body temperature drops
sharply, your brain (control center) sends
nerve impulses (output) to your skeletal
muscles (effectors).
The result is shivering, which generates
heat and raises your body temperature.