Here is what we have learned from Introduction to the Human Body:
- The human body is a single structure but it is made up of billions of smaller structures of four major kinds: cells, tissues, organs, and systems.
- An organ is an organization of several different kinds of tissues so arranged that together they can perform a special function.
- A system is an organization of varying numbers and kinds of organs so arranged that together they can perform complex functions for the body.
- Ten major systems include the skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and the reproductive system.
- Body functions are the physiological or psychological functions of body systems. Survival of the body depends on the body’s maintaining or restoring homeostasis, a state of relative constancy, of its internal environment.
- Human life process includes organization, metabolism, responsiveness, movements, reproduction, growth, differentiation, respiration, digestion, and excretion. All these processes work together, in fine-tuned balance, for the well-being of the individual and to maintain life.
- Life depends on certain physical factors from the environment, which include water, oxygen, nutrients, heat, and pressure.
- Useful terms for describing body parts and activities include:
- Directional terms
- Terms describing planes of the body
- Terms describing body cavities
