Review: Introduction to the Human Body

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