- What are the systems of the human body?
- Nervous system
- Endocrine system
- Respiratory system
- Circulatory system
- Digestive system
- Excretory system
- Reproductive system
- Immune system
- Locomotor system
We explain what the systems of the human body are, what are their various functions and their main characteristics.
What are the systems of the human body?
When we speak of the systems of the human body we refer to the different sets of organs that compose it, collaborating in each case with the fulfillment of some specific type of functions. Seen this way, our body can be understood precisely as a simultaneous and juxtaposed set of systems, whose correct operation keeps us with life.
Each of these systems of the human body involves various (and sometimes the same) organs, as well as various ducts, tissues and glands, all coordinated by endocrine substances and nerve impulses, in order to operate more or less autonomously as the case may be. .
This systemic understanding of the human body is particularly useful for medicine, which often consists of specialized branches in each of these systems: cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, etc.
Nervous system
The nervous system It is the main control system of the human body, which involves a very extensive network of nerves, made up of thousands of cells nervousneurons and gliomas, mainly). This system fulfills the function of movement volunteer and decision makingas well as conscience; but also with the internal and passive control of the organism, such as the regulation of involuntary movements, reflexes and other forms of nervous information transmission, such as the senses, pain, pleasure, etc.
The nervous system can be classified into Central Nervous System, which make up the brain, cerebellum and telencephalon, located inside the skull, as well as the spinal cord that is inside the vertebral column, and to which a vast network of nerves of different size and importance that make up the System is connected Peripheral Nervous.
Endocrine system
This is the name given to a complex system of internal regulation, which uses biochemical compounds called hormones to start, regulate or stop various processes in the body. These hormones are produced by the glands of the body and released into the blood, through which they travel to their destination. Thanks to hormones, metabolic, sexual and growth aspects of the body can be regulated, and even thermoregulation.
Respiratory system
It is the one that involves the oxygenation of the blood and the expulsion of carbon dioxide, essential processes for cellular respiration and metabolism energetic. The lungs, bronchi and the entire duct of the lungs are involved in this apparatus. air from outside the body to them: the trachea, pharynx, larynx, nose and the muscle that allows the inflation and deflation of the lungs: the diaphragm.
Breathing is a semi-reflex movement, which can be controlled but not prevented voluntarily, and which occurs by expanding the rib cage so that air enters through the nostrils, where it is filtered by the nasal hairs, and descends into the lungs and in the bronchi oxygen permeates into the blood. At the same time, the carbon dioxide accumulated in it is retained and exhaled in the opposite direction through the same ducts.
Circulatory system
Blood is the vehicle for oxygen that enters the lungs and must be distributed throughout the body. To do this, the blood encompasses an enormous network of arteries and capillaries that carry oxygenated blood to every corner, and veins that collect the carbon dioxide-laden blood and make its way back to the lungs, to start again. circuit.
The motor of this movement is a constantly beating muscle in our chest called the heart. This works like a pump, sucking the blood and pushing it back through a system of independent cavities that prevents the arterial and venous blood from mixing. This role is essential in the body and any defect that reduces the capacity of the heart has effects on the Health general.
Digestive system
This is the system necessary for the nutrition Y feeding, that is, the assimilation of organic material coming from outside the body. The circuit of this system begins with the mouth, tongue and teeth, as well as the salivary glands. There it is cut, crushed, moistened and prepared food (since then called "food bolus") for its descent through the esophagus until it reaches the stomach, a kind of cauldron of gastric acids that break down food and reduce it to its most basic elements.
The liver and pancreas also intervene in this process, whose hormones and substances prepare everything for the absorption of nutrients, which occurs in the intestine (small first and large later), thanks to a series of villi that connect with the blood capillaries. .
Once the nutrients are retained, the rest of the ingested organic matter continues its course towards the large intestine and its final parts: cecum, colon and rectum, where they are stored until the moment of their expulsion through the anus arrives, in the defecation.
Excretory system
Also called the urinary system, it is the system in charge of ridding the body of harmful metabolic substances and waste, whose accumulation in the body is risky. For this, it has two types of expulsion routes:
- The sweat glands. Which are found along the skin and expel sweat, a liquid saline in which we get rid of many harmful substances and microorganisms pathogens.
- The urinary system. Composed of the kidneys, blood filters in which metabolic waste substances (such as urea) are deposited and become urine, then stored in the bladder, where it arrives through the ureters after various processes reabsorption and filtering of usable substances. When the urine is enough (around 400 cc) it is expelled through the urethra out of the body, in what is known as urination.
Reproductive system
This is the system that guarantees the human body its ability to procreation, that is, to generate new individuals from the species. Since our reproduction is always sexual, this device is substantially distinguished between men and women, as follows:
- Male reproductive system. It is composed primarily of the penis, a highly sensitive organ that forms the corpora cavernosa that can fill with blood during sexual arousal, thus generating an erection and hardening of it, ready to penetrate the female genital tract. Then there are the man's external sex glands, the testes, located in the scrotum, in separate sacs below the penis. Male gametes, sperm, are constantly produced there, together with a substance that accompanies and nourishes them, semen, also produced thanks to the intervention of an internal organ known as the prostate. All this is ejaculated during intercourse inside the woman's body, so that fertilization takes place there.
- Female reproductive system. Like the male, it has sexual glands known as ovaries, where the female gametes are formed: the ovules. These descend to the uterus through a channel known as the fallopian tubes once a month, and if they are not fertilized, they are eliminated along with menstruation. There in the uterus is where the union of sperm and ovum occurs, to give rise to a zygote from which a fetus will be produced. During intercourse, the penis enters the female body through the vagina, a canal that connects the external genitalia (labia majora and minora and the clitoris) with the uterus.
Immune system
The immune system or immunological is in charge of the defense of the organism, identifying, pursuing and eliminating foreign bodies and substances that can penetrate it. For this, it has a series of organs that produce white blood cells (lymph nodes, spleen, thymus and bone marrow) of different types: cells specialized in discovering, attenuating and expelling potentially harmful agents, such as bacteria, virus, etc.
These white blood cells or lymphocytes travel through the human body through the integument and the lymphatic system, as well as through blood and other fluids. When they find a sign of infection or intoxication, they trigger the body's alerts and do everything possible to isolate and expel the intruder, either through the excretory or digestive system, or even through secretions such as pus or mucus, which sprout from mucous membranes or from infected regions, as the case may be.
Locomotor system
The locomotor system is the union of the muscular apparatus and the skeletal apparatus, which are respectively composed of the almost 650 muscles of different sizes and shapes that allow the body to mobilize, and the 206 bones also of different shapes and sizes that support the body and They serve as protection for the internal organs.
Thanks to these two systems, the human body preserves its shape and posture, and it can also move or move its limbs at will, which is essential for life.