Download Body Systems - Dickinson ISD


Function: Carries oxygen and nutrients to
body cells; carries waste products away from
cells; helps produce cells to fight infection.

The circulatory system consists of a liquid
called blood, a pump called the heart and a
series of vessels called arteries and veins.
Arteries carry blood away from the heart.
Veins carry blood to the heart. The blood in
arteries is bright red because it is rich in
oxygen. The blood in veins is dark red
because it is low in oxygen. Capillaries are
small vessels that join the arteries and veins.

Function:
Coordinates and
controls body
actions.

Facts: There are two main divisions to the
nervous system: the central nervous system
and the peripheral nervous system. The
Central Nervous System is made of the brain
and the spinal cord. The Peripheral Nervous
System is made of the nerves and the sense
organs. Messages carried throughout the
body by nerves. The neuron is the basic
structural unit of the nervous system.

Function: Produces movement, protects
internal organs, produces body heat,
maintain posture

Facts: Over 600 muscles make up the system
known as the muscular system. There are three
main kinds of muscle: cardiac, skeletal, smooth.
Some muscles are called voluntary, that means
that you choose to use them. Some muscles are
called involuntary because they work without you
thinking about them. Cardiac muscle is
involuntary and only found in the heart. Skeletal
muscles are voluntary and move bones. Skeletal
muscles are attached to bones by tendons.
Smooth muscles are involuntary and move the
internal organs.

Function: Creates
framework of body,
protects internal
organs, produces
blood cells, acts as
levers for muscles.

Facts: There are around 206 bones in the
adult human body. The skeletal system also
gives us our shape. Without a skeleton, we
would be shapeless blobs like a jellyfish. Our
bones, which are connected by ligaments,
provide a frame for the rest of the organs,
giving us our unique body shape. The skeletal
system also helps us move.

Muscles, which are attached to bones by
tendons, cause the bones to move, which
makes our bodies move. Bones also help
your body store minerals such as calcium. If
there is too much calcium in the blood, some
of it becomes bone. If there is not enough
calcium, then the bones give some to the
blood.

Function: Breathes in oxygen and eliminates
carbon dioxide

Facts: When you inhale, air enters the body
through the mouth or the nose. From there it
passes through the trachea, which forces air
into the lungs and food into the esophagus.
The air travels down the trachea into two
branching tubes called bronchi and then on
into the lungs.

In the lungs oxygen from the air enters the
bronchi. At the same time, the waste gas
carbon dioxide leaves the blood and then
leaves the body when you exhale. Some water
vapor also leaves the body when you exhale,
which is why mirrors get foggy when you
breathe on them. The diaphragm is the
muscle that controls the lungs.

Function: Carries some tissue fluid and
wastes to blood, assists with fighting
infection.

Facts: The lymphatic system is closely
associated with the cardiovascular system
and is comprised of a network of vessels that
circulate body fluids. Lymph is the fluid that
is circulated through the lymphatic system.

Function: Digests
food physically and
chemically,
transports food,
absorbs nutrients,
eliminates wastes.

Facts: The digestive system is composed of
two separate categories of organs: digestive
organs and accessory digestive organs. The
gastrointestinal (GI) tract organs include the
oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, stomach,
small intestines, and large intestines.

The GI tract forms a continuous tube that
extends about 30 feet from mouth to anus.
Food is propelled through the digestive tract
via peristalsis.


Function: Produces and secretes hormones to
regulate body processes.
Facts: The endocrine system exerts is control
by releasing special chemical substances into
the blood called hormones. Hormones affect
other endocrine glands or body systems.


Function: Provides for reproduction; provides
new life.
Facts: Although the anatomical parts differ in
males and females, the reproductive system
of both have the same types of organs:
gonads (sex glands); ducts (tubes) to carry
the sex cells and secretions; and accessory
organs.