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Anatomy: Animals Inside

Organs and Organ Systems

What is an organ system?

An organ system is a group of organs working together to perform a vital body function. The vast majority of vertebrate animals have twelve major organ systems; the following lists those systems, their components, and their functions:

Organ System

Components

Functions

Cardiovascular

Heart, blood, and blood vessels

Transports blood throughout the body, and circulatory system, supplying nutrients and carrying oxygen to the lungs and wastes to kidneys

Digestive

Mouth, esophagus, stomach, intestines, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas

Ingests food and breaks it down into smaller chemical units

Endocrine

Pituitary, adrenal, thyroid, and other ductless glands

Coordinates and regulates the activities of the body

Immune

Lymphocytes, antibodies; macrophages, and also thymus, tonsils and spleen

Removes foreign substances; fights diseases

Integumentary

Skin, hair, nails, and sweat glands

Protects the body

Lymphatic

Lymph nodes, lymphatic capillaries, lymphatic vessels, spleen, and thymus

Captures fluid and returns it to the cardiovascular system

Muscular

Skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle

Allows body movements

Nervous

Nerves, sense organs, brain, and spinal cord

Receives external stimuli, processes information, and directs activities

Reproductive

Testes, ovaries, and related organs

Carries out reproduction

Respiratory

Lungs, trachea, and other air passageways

Exchanges gases–captures oxygen (O2) and disposes of carbon dioxide (CO2)

Skeletal

Bones, cartilage, ligaments, tendons

Protects the body and provides support for locomotion and movement

Urinary (or Excretory)

Kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra

Fluid balance, excretion of urine; removes wastes from the bloodstream

Vestibular

Ear system

Contributes to balance and special orientation



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