Anatomy: Animals InsideOrgans 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  | 
