Structure and
Function in Living
Systems
Chapter 8: Systems in Organisms
8.1: Systems help organisms meet their needs
8.2: Plants have several levels of organization
8.3 Animals have several levels of organization
8.4 Human health depends on a balance among systems
Matching Warmup
 1. where photosynthesis takes place
 2. stems and leaves
 3. xylem and phloem
 Terms
 a. chloroplasts
 b. vascular tissue
 c. dermal tissue
 d. shoot system
 e. root system
Animalia is a diverse kingdom
 Includes: Jellyfish, hydras, worms, snails, insects, fish,
amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals…
 Specialization!
 Tissues  organs  organ systems (like plants, though cells
have no cell wall)
 More differentiated cell types than plants, but these
differentiated cells form only four types of tissues
 Multicellular!
 Eukaryotic! (+nucleus)
Most animals have
four types of tissue
 A few have specialized
cells but no tissues
 Ex: sponges
 Others have simple
tissues but no organs
 Ex: jellyfish
 Most are more complex:
four basic types of
tissue
 (“most” includes both
vertebrates and
invertebrates)
Most animals have four types of
tissue - Epithelial Tissue

Provides protection

Allows for absorption and secretion

Epithelial tissue covers the outside of most animals as skin


Soft and thin…


Worms, frogs
To very tough


Like plant’s dermal tissue
Alligators, elephants
Also covers the surface of internal cavities, passageways, and
organs


Ex: mouth, esophagus, stomach, and intestines
absorbs nutrients and secretes enzymes for digesting food


Secretions lubricate the passageways
Longs are lined – gas exchange
Nerve Tissue
 Nerve tissue transmits electrical impulses
 Coordinates and controls many body activities
 Vertebrates:
 brain, spinal cord, and nerves
 Stimuli  impulses sent to brain  brain
interprets impulses as sights, sounds, tastes, etc.
 muscle contractions
 Some simpler animals do not have a brain or a
spinal cord
 sea stars, sea anemones
 Nerves are a “nerve net”
Nerve Tissue
 Two types:
 Neurons
 conduct nerve impulses.
 Extensions on one end of a neuron –dendrites- receive signals
from other neurons
 Extension on the other end of the neuron –axon- carries
impulses to the next neuron
 Glial cells
 do not conduct nerve impulses
 provide support, nourishment, and protection for the neurons.
neurons (green), oligodendrocytes (red) and
astrocytes (blue) (types of glial cells)
Muscle Tissue
 Bundles of long and narrow cells that can contract or shorten
 Needed for all animal movement
 Including movement inside the animal
 beating of the heart
 contractions of the digestive organs
 Produce needed heat by contracting rapidly and repeatedly
 Voluntary muscles – directed to move
 Involuntary muscles - movement of the internal organs
 work continuously
Connective Tissue
 Joins body parts together
 Protection and support
 Ex: tendons and ligaments - bind other tissues together
 Tendons: muscles to bone and cartilage to internal skeleton
 Ligaments: bones to cartilage - unified

provides support, protects inner organs, stores calcium and phosphate, and
produces blood cells
 Same as in animals with an outer skeleton (lobster) or protective shell (snail)
 Ex: Fat
 stores energy, insulates the body, and provides protective padding for some
organs
 Ex: Blood
 delivers oxygen, food molecules, and other nutrients
 Removes, moves chemical messengers throughout the body
Animals are adapted to many
environments
 Eyes
 Part of the nervous system
 Some animals can only interpret




presence/absence of light
Some can react to motion
Compound eyes of insect – can see in
many directions at once
Some eyes can focus for much sharper
images
Optic nerve  impulses to brain =
camera-like image
Adaptation: Skin
 Skin -a large organ
 includes all four types of tissue
 Adaptations:
 mammals – hair
 birds – feathers
 Fish – scales
 protection and support
 often helps an animal regulate its body temperature.
Adaptation: Skeletal Systems -
exoskeleton
 Vertebrates - animals that have a
skull and a backbone,
 Invertebrates - don’t
 Many have an exoskeleton
 a strong but flexible outer covering
 supports and protects
 Prevents it from drying out
 jointed, often divided into
segments
 spiders, lobsters, crabs, and shrimp,
and all insects– beetles, bees, and
ants
 Muscles attached to the inside
 cannot grow along with the animal
 it must discard its exoskeleton from
time to time and replace it
 Molting - the process of shedding
the exoskeleton
Adaptation: Skeletal Systems endoskeleton
 Vertebrate animals have an internal support system called an endoskeleton
 typically made of the connective tissues—bones, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons
 grows along with the animal
 Cheetah:
 the backbone protects the spinal cord, and the ribs protect the internal organs
 Powerful muscles attached to large bones – runs fast
Check-in…

What structures aid in movement?

muscles attached to bones

What is the function of the cheetah’s ribs?

to protect internal organs like the heart and lungs

Describe what will happen when a muscle contracts.

It will shorten and pull the lower bone upward.

What different types of connective tissue make up the endoskeleton in vertebrate
animals?

bones, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons

Why must an animal like a shrimp or a crab replace its exoskeleton?

The exoskeleton does not grow along with the animal’s body.

How does this cheetah’s endoskeleton relate to the cheetah’s shape?

The cheetah’s endoskeleton creates the shape of the cheetah; it encloses and supports
the internal organs
http://www.classzone.com/books/ml_science_
share/vis_sim/hbm05_pg7_organs/hbm05_pg7
_organs.html
Organ systems work together
Except for simple organisms like sponges and jellyfish, all animals have organ systems

http://www.classzone.com/books/ml_science_
Respiratory System:
share/vis_sim/hbm05_pg63_heart/hbm05_pg
63_heart.html
 oxygen enters the body and carbon
dioxide exits
 Occurs in the lungs for many vertebrates (such as
mammals)
http://www.classzone.com/books/ml_science_
share/vis_sim/hbm05_pg35_diaghragm/hbm0
5_pg35_diaghragm.html
 Circulatory System
 transports blood throughout the body
 carries materials to and from the cells and organs
 (in many animals) the heart pumps blood continuously
 The circulatory system works closely with the
respiratory system – pumps oxygenated blood
throughout the body
Organ systems work
together
 Skeletal System
 provides support and protection.
 Movement
 Ex: arthropods have exoskeletons - their muscles
attach from the inside
 Ex: Snakes have long central backbones with as
many as several hundred pairs of ribs attached
 Ex: Sharks have skeletons made entirely of cartilage flexibility in the water
Organ systems
work together
 Lymphatic System
 includes the immune system

defends the body against invading viruses and bacteria
 Vessels collect the fluid outside the cells, or plasma, and
return it to the blood
 Organs produce chemicals that help regulate many body
processes
 Endocrine system
 releases hormones into the blood


control the activities of cells
manage water and chemical balances in the body
 The endocrine system works together with the
circulatory, digestive, and reproductive systems
Organ systems work together
 Digestive System
 processes the food and liquid
 Biting, chewing, and mashing begin
 Chemicals break down food further
 Nutrients and water are absorbed through the
intestinal walls into the blood stream
 Undigested waste is excreted
Organ systems work together
 Nervous System
 The nervous system detects and responds to
external and internal stimuli
 It connects the systems of the body together
 In vertebrates, the brain and spinal cord are the
central nervous system (CNS)
 The nerves going out from the spinal cord to the
rest of the body are the peripheral nervous
system (PNS)
 Muscular System
 Allows animals to move and to change shape
 Muscles protect the bones and the internal
organs of animals with endoskeletons
Organ systems work together
 Integumentary System
 protects the body from the external environment
 regulate body temperature: controls flow of fluids such
as blood and sweat
 Sweat glands, hair, feathers, and scales
 Urinary System
 helps keep the amounts of fluids and the materials in
them balanced
 In vertebrates:

kidneys remove wastes, salt, and excess water from the
blood plasma
 Wastes and water are stored in the bladder
 eliminated as urine
 Reproductive System
 organs necessary for the animals to produce offspring
 the only system that is not essential to the survival of the
individual organism
 http://www.whitman.edu/biology/vpd/main.html