Anatomy & Physiology For Dummies
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If you're talking anatomy and physiology, you're talking about the human body and its organs. The 11 systems in the following table provide the means for every human activity — from breathing to eating to moving to reproducing:
System What the System Includes What the System Does
Integumentary Skin and its accessories Protects underlying tissues, regulates body temperature
Skeletal Bones and connective tissues Provides framework, protects underlying soft tissues, produces blood cells
Muscular Skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscle Powers movement, maintains posture, generates heat
Nervous Brain, spinal cord, nerves, sensory organs and cells Communicates via impulse, integrates functions of other body systems
Endocrine Pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenals glands; pancreas; ovaries; and testes Communicates via hormones
Cardiovascular Heart, blood vessels, and blood Transports materials throughout body
Lymphatic Tonsils, spleen, thymus, lymph nodes, lymphatic vessels, and lymph Provides immunity, filters tissue fluid
Digestive Mouth, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines (alimentary canal), and accessory organs (including salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder) Obtains nutrients from food
Respiratory Nose and mouth, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, and lungs Performs gas exchange with blood (oxygen in, carbon dioxide out)
Urinary Kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra Filters waste from the blood for excretion, retains water
Reproductive Ovaries, uterine tubes, uterus, vagina, and vulva in females; testes, seminal vesicles, penis, urethra, prostate, and bulbourethral glands in males Produces offspring

About This Article

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About the book authors:

Erin Odya is an anatomy and physiology teacher at Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana, one of Indiana’s top schools.

Maggie Norris is a freelance science writer living in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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