The 11 Body Systems
The Basic Needs of Every Living Thing
All living things have numerous features in common, and that these features are directly related to the basic
needs of every living thing. Form follows Function or Anatomy is based upon Physiology!. The solutions
organisms have to solving the problem of fulfilling those needs get necessarily more complex in multicellular
organisms, simply by virtue of these organisms being LARGER (hence the expression "large, complex
organisms")!
BASIC NEEDS
Animal Body
Systems
Gas Exchange
Respiratory
Energy (may or may not be in the form of food)
Digestive
Maintain Specific Body Temperature (needed for chemical reactions) Integumentary,
Muscular
Maintaining a Specific Water Concentration:
Excretory,
(a) getting it (b) keeping it (c) eliminating extra
Digestive
Transport of Materials
Cardiovascular,
Lymphatic
Waste Removal
Excretory,
Digestive,
Integumentary,
Respiratory
Communication:
Nervous,
(a) homeostasis (b) sense & react to the environment
Endocrine
Reproduction
Reproductive
Ability to Adapt to the Environment & Evolve
Nervous (only in terms
of behavioral
adaptation),
Reproductive (only in
terms of passing on
beneficial mutations)
Maintain a Specific Shape - Including Growth & Development
Integumentary,
Skeletal,
Muscular,
Endocrine
Movement
Muscular,
Skeletal,
Nervous
Protection
Lymphatic,
Nervous,
Integumentary,
Skeletal
* NOTE: The nervous and endocrine systems are involved in much of this, simply because they
regulate the activities of the other systems. In the same way, it can be argued that without the
nutrients from the digestive system, the gas exchange from the respiratory system, the waste
removal from the excretory system, not to mention the transport of these materials from the
cardiovascular and lymphatic systems, that the other body systems will fail to function! As such,
any list of animal body systems involved will be incomplete.
ORGANS:
_____ Bones. the _____________ that hold them together, & bone __________
Axial =
Appendicular =
FUNCTIONS:
Support (How & where?):
Protection (How & where?):
Blood Support (How & where?):
Storage (Of what?):
ORGANS:
Lymph Nodes are clustered in the __________, __________, __________, etc.
Spleen, Thymus, and ________ pairs of Tonsils
FUNCTIONS:
Drainage (of what, & why?):
Production of __________ cells (Where? What do they do?):
Immune Response (What, and where are most of the battles fought?):
Destroys old ____________________ (To recycle the hemoglobin.).
ORGANS:
Skin, which includes hair and nails (not to mention ______________!)
Glands: _______________, _______________, _______________,
FUNCTIONS:
Physical Barrier (Protection from what, and how?):
Aid grasping (Through the presence of what two features?):
Sensation (Of what? In what four ways?):
Body Temperature Regulation (What three ways?):
ORGANS:
A _______-Chambered Heart
Away from the heart = larger Arteries then smaller ____________, then
the smallest vessels, the site of ____________, are called ____________,
then Toward the heart = small ____________ then larger Veins
FUNCTIONS:
Transport (Of what? From where to where?):
Maintains fluid pressure (How?):
Body Temperature Regulation (What two ways?):
ORGANS:
__________ ( ! ) Skeletal Muscles (both superficial and deep).
and ____________ which attach them to bone
FUNCTIONS:
Movement (How, and by moving what?):
Support (Where?):
Regulate Organ Volume (What? . . . and where do we use it?):
Thermogenesis (What, and why?):
ORGANS:
Master Glands = _____________ (Captain) & the ____________ (1st Mate).
+ _________(neck), __________ (abdomen), __________ (on top of kidneys), etc.
FUNCTIONS:
Maintains Homeostasis (What, and why is it important):
Forms of Homeostasis (Through the use of __________.):
Blood Sugar = ___________, Blood Pressure = __________, “Fight or Flight”
Response = __________, Gamete Production = __________ & __________,
Calcium Levels = __________, Metabolic Rate (rate of reactions) =
__________, Circadian (Day & Night Rhythm) = __________, Breast Feeding =
__________.
Controls Other Endocrine Organs = __________ (a.k.a. __________), 1st
Mate. Controls the __________ (by producing regulatory hormones), making
this organ the Captain!).
ORGANS:
CNS = ______________________, made of the __________ & ________.
PNS = ______________________, made of all of the __________.
Brain: Lobes = ________, ________, ________, ________, & ________.
Nerves: __________ (THE nerve), ________ (in head, direct to brain),
__________ (from THE nerve).
Sense Organs: ________, ________, ________, ________, ________.
FUNCTIONS:
Somatic Nervous System or SNS (What does it do?):
Autonomic Nervous System or ANS (What does it do?):
Monitor External Environment (How?):
Communication & Thought:
ORGANS:
Female: Ext.= ________. Int.= ________, _______, _______, _______
Male: Ext.= ________, ________. Int.= _______, _______
FUNCTIONS:
Production of Gametes (What, and where?):
Nurturing Gametes (What, and how?):
Maintain Pregnancy (Where, and how?):
Feeding the offspring (How, both before and after birth?):
ORGANS:
Conducting = _________, ________, _________, _________, _________
(there are 2), and the smaller __________
Respiratory = Lungs, with the incredibly abundant __________.
FUNCTIONS:
Gas Exchange (What gases, why are they important, and where?):
IN =
OUT =
Aids Movement of Blood (Where, and how?):
Filters, Warms, and Humidifies Air (How, and why?):
ORGANS:
Kidneys (there are ______), which are drained by the ____________, and
then empty into the __________, and then leaves through the __________.
FUNCTIONS:
Removal of Liquid Waste, a.k.a. __________ (Where, and from what?):
Maintains Fluid Levels (Where, why, and how?):
Maintains Ion Levels (Where, why, and how?):
Maintains Blood Pressure (Where, why, and how?):
Temporary storage, and subsequent release, of urine (In what, and
through what?):
ORGANS:
(Chew) _________, (Swallow 1) __________, (Swallow 2) __________,
(Digest) __________ & __________, (Feces) _________, (Gotta go!) ____
Accessory: ___________, ___________, ____________, ___________.
FUNCTIONS: Mechanical Digestion (What, where, and how?):
Chemical Digestion (What, where, and how?):
Absorption (Where, and why?):