Body Systems: An Introduction Flashcards
What is a tissue?
A group of cells that all do the same job
What is a cell?
The smallest building block of the body
What is a body?
The whole organism
What is an organ system?
A set of organs that do one of the body’s main job
What is an organ?
A group of tissues that carry out a specific job
How can you go from an atom to an organism?
Atom –> Molecule –> Cell –> Tissue –> Organ –> Organ System –> Organism
What are the body systems?
Cardiovascular (CV)
Respiratory
Endocrine
Nervous
Gastrointestinal (GI)
Urogenital (UG)
Musculoskeletal (MSK)
Integumentary
Lymphatic and Immune
What are the main components of the cardiovascular (CV) system?
Heart, Blood and Blood vessels
What are the blood vessels in the cardiovascular (CV) system?
Arteries (carry blood away from heart)
Veins (carry blood towards heart)
Capillaries
Venules (carry blood away from heart)
Arterioles (carry blood towards heart)
What are the components of blood and their uses in the cardiovascular (CV) system?
Red blood cells: Oxygen transportation (Haemoglobin)
White blood cells: Immune defense
Platelets and clotting factors
What are the main functions of the cardiovascular (CV) system?
Transport of cells, gases, nutrients and waste products around the body
Helps maintain homeostasis and thermoregulation
Maintain fluid balance within body
Disease protection and healing (transportation of WBC throughout the body)
What are the components of the respiratory system?
Mouth
Nose: where air enters and is warmed, moistened, filtered, cleaned and smelled
Epiglottis
Pharynx
Larynx
Trachea
Lungs Bronchi
What are the main functions of the respiratory system?
Main site for gas exchange
Pulmonary protection/defence
Acid-base balance
Phonation: speaking
How is the trachea kept open?
By chondrocytes, that form stiff rings of cartilage
What system does the respiratory system work with?
Cardiovascular system as to move oxygen in the blood around the body
What is the importance of the endocrine system?
The movement and regulation of hormones
What are the components of the endocrine system?
Pancreas
Glands (pituitary, pineal, thymus, adrenal, thyroid)
Reproductive Organs (ovaries, testis)
What is the function of the brain regarding the endocrine system?
Hormone regulation, more specifically in the hypothalamus (posterior hypothalamus)
What are the main functions of the endocrine system?
Maintain a stable environment within the body (homeostasis)
The hormones also help the body to regulate:
Growth
Sexual development
Metabolism
Sugar, salt and fluid levels in the blood
What does each gland in the endocrine system help to regulate?
Pituitary: Helps to regulate all the other glands
Pineal: Involved in producing melatonin (sleep)
Thyroid: Regulates body’s metabolism
Adrenal: Produces adrenaline to help with crisis
Pancreas: Produces insulin, helps to get energy from food
Ovary: Produces oestrogen and progesterone
Testes: Produces testosterone (a type of androgen)
What would the regulation of melatonin look like in its simplest form?
Hypothalamus–>Pancreas–>Pineal
What would occur if the hypothalamus or the pancreas were not functioning properly in the endocrine system?
The endocrine system would fail to function
What does the nervous system consist of?
Brain, spinal cord, and a complex system of nerves that ar either myelinated or non-myelinated
What systems can the nervous system be split into?
Central Nervous System (CNS)
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
Sympathetic Nervous System
Parasympathetic Nervous System
How can the nervous system control bodily functions?
By relying on signaling as when responding to stimuli
What functions does the sympathetic nervous system control?
Pupil dilation
Inhibit salivation
Relax airways
Increases heartbeat
Inhibit stomach activity
Stimulate release of glucose
Inhibit gallbladder
Inhibit intestinal activity
Secrete epinephrine and norepinephrine
Relax bladder
Promote ejaculation and vaginal contractions
What functions does the parasympathetic nervous system control?
Pupil constriction
Stimulation of saliva
Airway constriction
Slows heartbeat
Stimulates stomach activity
Inhibits glucose release
Stimulates gallbladder
Stimulates intestinal activity
Constricts bladder
Promotes erection of genitals
What are the components of the CNS?
Brain (the medulla, the pons, the cerebellum, the midbrain, the diencephalon, and the cerebral hemispheres), brain stem and the spinal cord
What are the components of the PNS?
Cranial nerves, spinal nerves and their roots and branches, peripheral nerves, and neuromuscular junctions
Everything outside of the brain and the spinal cord
What are the main functions and purposes of the nervous system?
Receiving, interpreting, processing and sending messages or signals to body
Responds to external stimuli
Control homeostasis and bodily functions
Spinal cord is responsible for spinal reflexes
Brain is responsible for higher level executive functioning and decision making
What are the main components of the gastrointestinal (digestive) system?
Mouth
Oesophagus
Stomach
Intestines
Pancreas
Liver
Gall bladder
Rectum
What are the main functions and purposes of the gastrointestinal system?
Digest and break down food into small molecules via:
Ingestion
Secretion
Digestion
Absorption
Excretion
Waste products from digestion are excreted
What does the GI tract consist of and why?
Mouth, oesophagus, stomach and intestines
These are the only organs that come into contact with food, as the rest are accessory organs
What are the salivary glands and what are their importance?
The salivary glands are the: parotid gland, sublingual gland and submandibular gland
They secrete amylase in the mouth and so start the digestive system
What is the importance of bile in the GI system?
Bile is produced by the liver, so is not part of the GI tract- however it helps to breakdown fat
What happens during the process of secretion in the gastrointestinal system?
Hormones and the enzyme amylase are released by the cells
What are the main components of the urogenital (UG) system?
Kidneys
Urinary bladder
Ureters and Urethra
Genitals (Ovaries and Testes)
What are the key functions of the urogenital system?
Responsible for the formation, storage and elimination of urine
Removal of waste products of protein metabolism and other harmful substances
Helps to control amounts of water and salts to help maintain the internal environment of the body
Reproduction
What does the musculoskeletal (MSK) system consist of?
Bones
Tendons (connect bones to muscles)
Ligaments (connect bone to bone)
Cartilage (protects and offers flexibility)
What are the main functions and purposes of the MSK system?
Muscles control all movements of the body tissues, organs and bones
Skeletal system provides shape and support
How does cartilage offer protection?
Protects the bones from rubbing together which can lead to osteoarthritis
What are the main functions of the skeleton?
Movement
Support
Protection: protects internal organs
Production of blood cells
Storage and releasing of fats and minerals
Endocrine regulation
How does the skeleton have a role un endocrine regulation?
Parathyroid hormone produces Ca (calcium) which is used by tissues in the UG and GI systems for homeostasis
What are the main functions of the muscles?
Overall, the muscles enable movement
Skeletal muscle: maintains posture (voluntary)
Cardiac muscle: involuntary control (e.g., heartbeat and blood circulation)
Smooth muscle: involuntary movement (e.g., breathing and digestion)
What are the main components of the lymphatic system?
Bone marrow
Spleen
Thymus gland
Lymph nodes
Tonsils
What is the main purpose and function of the lymphatic system?
Filtrate foreign particles and and waste products from the tissues
An extensive drainage network that helps keep bodily fluid levels in balance and defends the body against infections
How does the lymphatic drainage system work?
There are lymphatic vessels
Tissue fluid (lymph) leaks into lymphatic capillaries from the body tissue
Lymphatic collecting vessels collect tissue fluid from lymph capillaries
Carries lymph to and away from lymph nodes
What does the immune system consist of?
Cells and organs
What are the cellular components of the immune system?
Stem Cells
B-Cells
Cytotoxic T-Cells
Helper T-Cells
Plasma Cells
Immunoglobulins
Neutrophils
Monocytes
Red Blood Cells
Platelets
Dendritic Cells
What are the organ components of the immune system?
Thymus
Liver
Bone marrow
Tonsils
Lymph nodes
Spleen
Blood
What is the main purpose and function of the immune system?
Protect against pathogenic organisms
Whole host of specialised cells that act to protect from pathogens to prevent infections
What are the two levels of defense that the immune system provides?
Innate (rapid) immunity
Adaptive (slow) immunity
Which cells are apart of the innate response?
Mast cells
Dendritic cells
Macrophage
Natural killer cell
Basophil
Neutrophil
Eosinophil
(Complement protein)
Gamma delta T-cell
Natural killer T-cell
Which cells are apart of the adaptive response?
Gamma delta T-cells
Natural killer T-cells
B-cells (produce antibodies)
T-cell that produces CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells
What is a difference between the adaptive immune response and the innate immune response?
Innate response happens straight away, therefore not specific to a single pathogen- general cells to fight pathogen
Adaptive response produces cells specific to the pathogen
