Body Systems Overview

Body Systems

• Nervous System: Recognizes and coordinates body's response to internal and external environments. Includes the brain, spinal cord, and nerves.
• Integumentary System: Guards against infection and injury, and UV radiation. Includes skin, hair, nails, sweat and oil glands. Helps to regulate body temperature.
• Immune/Lymphatic System: Protects body from disease. Includes white blood cells, thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, and lymph vessels. Collects fluid lost from blood vessels and returns it to the circulatory system.
• Muscular System: Works with skeletal system to produce voluntary movements. Includes skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscle. Circulates blood and moves food through digestive system.
• Circulatory System: Transports oxygen, nutrients, and hormones. Includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood. Fights infection, removes cell wastes, and helps regulate body temperature.
• Skeletal System: Supports the body, protects internal organs, allows movement, and stores mineral reserves. Includes bones, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons. Contains cells that produce blood cells.

Other Systems

• Respiratory System: Brings in oxygen needed for cellular respiration and removes excess carbon dioxide. Includes the nose, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, and lungs.
• Digestive System: Breaks down food, absorbs nutrients, and eliminates wastes. Includes the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, and rectum.
• Excretory System: Eliminates waste products from the body. Includes the skin, lungs, liver, kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra.
• Endocrine System: Controls growth, development, and metabolism, and maintains homeostasis. Includes hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroids, adrenals, pancreas, ovaries (in females), and testes (in males).
• Reproductive System: Produces gametes; in females, nurtures and protects developing embryo. Includes testes, epididymis, vas deferens, urethra, and penis (in males); ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina (in females).