Van Vesper J.

Dulliyao CEAT
D1 NASC 4

Immune system
The Immune System covers structures and processes which is responsible in protecting the body
from threats and diseases.
The immune system has a series of dual natures, the most important of which is self/non-self
recognition. The others are: general/specific, natural/adaptive = innate/acquired, cell-mediated/humoral,
active/passive, primary/secondary. Parts of the immune system are antigen-specific(they recognize and
act against particular antigens), systemic (not confined to the initial infection site, but work throughout the
body), and havememory (recognize and mount an even stronger attack to the same antigen the next time).
Self/non-self recognition is achieved by having every cell display a marker based on the major
histocompatibility complex (MHC). Any cell not displaying this marker is treated as non-self and
attacked. The process is so effective that undigested proteins are treated as antigens.
There are two main fluid systems in the body: blood and lymph. The blood and lymph systems are
intertwined throughout the body and they are responsible for transporting the agents of the immune
system. The lymph flows from the interstitial fluid through lymphatic vessels up to either the thoracic
duct or right lymph duct, which terminate in the subclavian veins, where lymph is mixed into the blood.
Lymph carries lipids and lipid-soluble vitamins absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Since there is no
active pump in the lymph system, there is no back-pressure produced. The lymphatic vessels, like veins,
have one-way valves that prevent backflow. Additionally, along these vessels there are small bean-
shaped lymph nodes that serve as filters of the lymphatic fluid. It is in the lymph nodes where antigen is
usually presented to the immune system.
The human lymphoid system has the following:
primary organs: bone marrow (in the hollow center of bones) and the thymus gland (located
behind the breastbone above the heart), and
secondary organs at or near possible portals of entry for pathogens: adenoids, tonsils, spleen
(located at the upper left of the abdomen), lymph nodes (along the lymphatic vessels with concentrations
in the neck, armpits, abdomen, and groin), Peyer's patches (within the intestines), and the appendix.

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 The Circulatory System
The Circulatory System is responsible for transporting nutrients, wastes and gases to and from the
cells.
There are several types of circulatory systems. The open circulatory system is common to
mollusks and arthropods. Open circulatory systems (evolved in insects, mollusks and other invertebrates)
pump blood into a hemocoel with the blood diffusing back to the circulatory system between cells. Blood
is pumped by a heart into the body cavities, where tissues are surrounded by the blood. The resulting
blood flow is sluggish.
Vertebrates, and a few invertebrates, have a closed circulatory system. Closed circulatory systems
(evolved in echinoderms and vertebrates) have the blood closed at all times within vessels of different size
and wall thickness. In this type of system, blood is pumped by a heart through vessels, and does not
normally fill body cavities. Blood flow is not sluggish. The human closed circulatory system is sometimes
called the cardiovascular system. A secondary circulatory system, the lymphatic circulation, collects fluid
and cells and returns them to the cardiovascular system.
The vertebrate cardiovascular system is composed mainly three parts: the blood, the blood vessels
and the heart.
Blood is the substance that is constantly flowing throughout our bodies. It is primarily composed
of plasma, the liquid part of blood which carries the erythrocytes, the leukocytes and the platelets.
Erythrocytes are responsible for carrying Hemoglobin that causes vertebrate blood to turn; but more
importantly hemoglobin molecules in blood cells transport oxygen. After delivering oxygen, it picks up
wastes materials and gases from the cell. The leukocytes fights off foreign organisms and guards the body
from threats or diseases. Platelets are the smallest blood cells and is primary concerned with blood
clotting.
Blood is propelled throughout the body by the contractions of a muscular pump, the heart. Blood
enters the heart by passing through either the superior or inferior vena cava and into the left atrium. It
goes through a valve, going to the left ventricle and the contraction of the ventricle forces blood from the
heart through an artery. Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from heart. Arterial walls are
able to expand and contract. Arteries have three layers of thick walls. Smooth muscle fibers contract,
another layer of connective tissue is quite elastic, allowing the arteries to carry blood under high pressure.
The aorta is the main artery leaving the heart. The pulmonary artery is the only artery that carries oxygen-
poor blood. The pulmonary artery carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs. In the lungs, gas exchange
occurs, carbon dioxide diffuses out, oxygen diffuses in. Arterioles are small arteries that connect larger
arteries with capillaries. Small arterioles branch into collections of capillaries known as capillary beds.
Capillaries are the points of exchange between the blood and surrounding tissues. Materials cross in and
out of the capillaries by passing through or between the cells that line the capillary. Blood leaving the
capillary beds flows into a progressively larger series of venules that in turn join to form
veins. Veins carry blood from capillaries to the heart. With the exception of the pulmonary veins, blood in
veins is oxygen-poor. The pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blood from lungs back to the heart. It enters
the heart through the right atrium then passing through a valve, it goes down the right ventricle which has
the thickest wall covering. This is where the pressure is the strongest since it forces the oxygenated blood
out of the heart and into the different parts of our body.

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 The Nervous System
The nervous system is essentially an information highway, and is responsible for controlling all the
processes and movement in the body, and can also receive information and interpret it via electrical signals which
are used in this nervous system.
The human nervous system consists of the Central Nervous System (CNS) which includes the brain and
spinal cord and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) which connects the CNS to other parts of the body, and is
composed of nerves (bundles of neurons).
The central nervous system is the largest part, and includes the brain and spinal cord. It acts as the central
control region of the human nervous system, processing information and issuing commands. The cavity contains
the spinal cord, while the head contains the brain. The CNS is enclosed and protected by meninges, a three-layered
system of membranes, including a tough, leathery outer layer called the dura mater.
The brain is composed of three parts: the cerebrum (seat of consciousness), the cerebellum, and the medulla
oblongata (these latter two are "part of the unconscious brain"). The medulla oblongata is closest to the spinal cord,
and is involved with the regulation of heartbeat, breathing, vasoconstriction (blood pressure), and reflex centers for
vomiting, coughing, sneezing, swallowing, and hiccuping. The hypothalamus regulates homeostasis. It has
regulatory areas for thirst, hunger, body temperature, water balance, and blood pressure, and links the Nervous
System to the Endocrine. The midbrain and pons are also part of the unconscious brain. The thalamus serves as a
central relay point for incoming nervous messages. The cerebellum functions for muscle coordination and
maintains normal muscle tone and posture. The cerebellum coordinates balance. The conscious brain includes the
cerebral hemispheres, which are are separated by the corpus callosum. The cerebrum governs intelligence and
reasoning, learning and memory. While the cause of memory is not yet definitely known, studies on slugs indicate
learning is accompanied by a synapse decrease. Within the cell, learning involves change in gene regulation and
increased ability to secrete transmitters.
The spinal cord runs along the dorsal side of the body and links the brain to the rest of the body.
Vertebrates have their spinal cords encased in a series of (usually) bony vertebrae that comprise the vertebral
column.
The gray matter of the spinal cord consists mostly of cell bodies and dendrites. The surrounding white matter is
made up of bundles of interneuronal axons (tracts). Some tracts are ascending (carrying messages to the brain),
others are descending (carrying messages from the brain). The spinal cord is also involved in reflexes that do not
immediately involve the brain.
The peripheral nervous system contains only nerves and connects the brain and spinal cord (CNS) to the
rest of the body.
The nerves that are easily visible to the unaided eye are not single cells. Rather, they are bundles of nerve
fibers (neurons) each of which is itself a portion of a cell. The fibers are all traveling in the same direction and are
bound together for the sake of convenience, though the individual fibers of the bundle may have widely differing
functions. There are no cell bodies in nerves; cell bodies are found only in the CNS or in the ganglia. Ganglia are
collections of cell bodies within the PNS.
The main portion of the neuron, the cell body, is not too different from other cells. It contains a nucleus and
cytoplasm. Where it is most distinct from cells of other types is that out of the cell body, long threadlike projections
emerge. Over most of the cell there are numerous projections that branch out into still finer extensions. These
branching threads are called dendrites. At one point of the cell, however, there is a particularly long extension that
usually does not branch throughout most of its sometimes enormous length. This is the axon. Dendrites conduct
nerve impulses toward the cell body, the part of a neuron that contains the nucleus and other organelles. An axon
conducts nerve implses away from the cell body. There are three types of neurons: sensory neuron, motor neuron,
and interneuron. A sensory neuron takes a message from the receptors in the sense organ to the CNS. A motor
neuron sends a message away from the CNS to an effector, a muscle fiber or a gland. An interneuron is always
found completely within the CNS and conveys messages between parts of the system.

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 The Respiratory system

The primary function of the respiratory system is to supply the blood with oxygen in order for the
blood to deliver oxygen to all parts of the body. The respiratory system does this through breathing. When
we breathe, we inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. This exchange of gases is the respiratory
system's means of getting oxygen to the blood.
Oxygen enters the respiratory system through nostrils, with tiny hairs called cilia that protect the
nasal passageways and other parts of the respiratory tract by filtering out dust and other particles that
enter the nose through the breathed air. Another way is by the mouth. These two openings of the airway
meet at the pharynx, or throat, at the back of the nose and mouth.
The pharynx is part of the digestive system as well as the respiratory system because it carries
both food and air. At the bottom of the pharynx, this pathway divides in two, one for food (the esophagus,
which leads to the stomach) and the other for air.
The epiglottis, a small flap of tissue, covers the air-only passage when we swallow, keeping food
and liquid from going into the lungs.
Down the larynx, also called as voice box, is the trachea that lies partly in the neck and partly in
the chest cavity. The walls of the trachea are strengthened by stiff rings of cartilage to keep it open. The
trachea is also lined with cilia, which sweep fluids and foreign particles out of the airway so that they stay
out of the lungs.
At its bottom end, the trachea divides into left and right air tubes called bronchi, which connect to
the lungs. Within the lungs, the bronchi branch into smaller bronchi and even smaller tubes called
bronchioles. Bronchioles end in tiny air sacs called alveoli.
Alveoli are the tiny sacs which are the basic functional component of the lungs. The alveolar walls
are extremely thin (approx. 0.2 micrometers). These walls are composed of a single layer of epithelial
cells (type I and type II epithelial cells) close to the pulmonary capillaries which are composed of a single
layer of endothelial cells. In these tiny capillaries of the body tissues, oxygen is freed from the
hemoglobin and moves into the cells. Carbon dioxide, which is produced during the process of diffusion,
moves out of these cells into the capillaries, where most of it is dissolved in the plasma of the blood.
Blood rich in carbon dioxide then returns to the heart via the veins. From the heart, this blood is pumped
to the lungs, where carbon dioxide passes into the alveoli to be exhaled.
This whole mechanism of gas exchange is carried by the simple phenomenon of pressure
difference. When the air pressure is high inside the lungs, the air from lungs flow out.
The top and sides of the chest cavity are formed by the ribs and attached muscles, and the bottom
is formed by a large muscle called the diaphragm. The chest walls form a protective cage around the lungs
and other contents of the chest cavity. Separating the chest from the abdomen, the diaphragm plays a lead
role in breathing. It moves downward when we breathe in, enlarging the chest cavity and pulling air in
through the nose or mouth. When we breathe out, the diaphragm moves upward, forcing the chest cavity
to get smaller and pushing the gases in the lungs up and out of the nose and mouth.

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 Excretory system

The excretory system is responsible in discharging wastes from our body and in regulating the
amount of water and ions present in the body fluids.
The human excretory system has 3 component organs the skin, the lungs and the kidneys.
Excretion by definition is passive and deals with metabolic wastes as filtered by the kidneys.
Though the sweat may contain a trace amount of metabolic wastes, sweating is an active process
of secretion not excretion, specifically for temperature control and pheromone release. Therefore, its role
as a part of the excretory system is minimal at best. Specifically, the skin secretes a fluid waste called
sweat, or perspiration which is a way or removing excess water, salt, urea and uric acid.
The lungs which is the primary organ concerned with respiration is the way of eliminating gaseous
wastes from the body (carbon dioxide).
Our solid wastes are disposed through decaffecation.
We excrete nitrogenous wastes via our kidneys. Every human has two kidneys. They are well
supplied with blood via the renal artery and renal vein. Urine made in the kidney collects in the renal
pelvis within the kidney, then flows down the ureter to the bladder where it is stored until voided. From
the bladder, the urine flows to the outside via the urethra, (which in the male also serves as part of the
reproductory tract).
The kidney is composed of an outer layer, the cortex, and an inner core, the medulla. The kidney
consists of repeating units (tubules) called nephrons. The tops of the nephrons make up or are in the
cortex, while their long tubule portions make up the medulla. To the right is a diagram of an individual
nephron. Each nephron has a closely associated blood supply. Blood comes in at the glomerulus and
transfers water and solutes to the nephron at Bowmans capsule. In the proximal tubule, water and some
good molecules are absorbed back into the body, while a few other, unwanted molecules/ions are added
to the urine. Then, the filtrategoes down the loop of Henle (in the medulla) where more water is removed
(back into the bloodstream) on the way down, but the up side is impervious to water. Some NaCl
(salt) is removed from the filtrate at this point to adjust the amount in the fluid which surrounds the
tubule. Capillaries wind around and exchange materials with the tubule. In the distal tubule, more water
and some good solutes are removed from the urine, while some more unwanted molecules are put in.
From there, the urine flows down a collecting duct which gathers urine from several nephrons. As the
collecting duct goes back through the medulla, more water is removed from the urine. The collecting
ducts eventually end up at the renal pelvis which collects the urine from all of them.