from entering the body and liquids from leaking out. The
cardiovascular system also does the role of maintaining
homeostatic control of several internal conditions including
body temperature. The cardiovascular system maintains a
stable body temperature by appropriately controlling the
bloodflow to the surface of the skin for the dissipation
of heat.
30 2 Nervous System
Respiratory System
The respiratory system is made up of the organs involved in
the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The respiratory
air pathway is composed of two tracts, the upper respiratory
tract above the vocal fold and the lower respiratory tract
below the vocal fold. When air enters through the nose, it
passes the sinuses and nasal cavity of the upper respiratory
tract, both of which are behind the nose. Theyfilter out
foreign particles and warm up the breathed air. Air can also
enter through the mouth and it passes through the pharynx
and larynx in the lower portion of the upper respiratory tract.
After air enters the larynx, itflows down into the trachea,
which belongs to the lower respiratory tract. The trachea is a
rigid and hollow windpipe that guides air passage directly to
the lungs, and it is divided into two bronchi leading air into
each side of the lung. Then, these bronchi continue to branch
off into smaller bronchioles, andfinally into alveoli, which
are air sacks where the exchange of oxygen and carbon
dioxide actually takes place with blood vessels. On average,
the diameter of alveoli is about 250–300μm, and there are
about 480 million alveoli in an adult human lung. The alveo-
lar wall is covered with a dense network of capillaries.
Oxygen in the breathed air passes through the alveoli and
diffuses into the blood in capillaries, and it is loaded in the
hemoglobin of the blood, and travels to the tissues through-
out the body. The diaphragm is a large, dome-shaped muscle
located below the lung and contracts rhythmically, continu-
ally, and most of the time involuntarily for respiration. For
the inhalation, the diaphragm is contracted andflattened to
enlarge and produce negative pressure in the chest cavity.
The respiration rate of a healthy human is 12–16 times per
minute, and the air volume breathed under normal resting
circumstances, which is the resting tidal volume of the lung,
is about 500 mL while the maximal total lung capacity of
holding air is about 6 L.
The respiration system is also involved in vocalization.
The air movement across the vocal cord in the larynx, phar-
ynx, and mouth allows humans to speak and phonate.
Digestive System
The digestive system is a series of connected organs leading
from the mouth to the anus, which is composed of the
gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the accompanying organs for
digestion. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is the largest
structure of the digestive system which begins at the lips
and ends at the anus covering about nine meters. It includes
the mouth, the throat, the esophagus, the stomach; the small
intestine, and the large intestine. The large intestine is com-
posed of the cecum, the colon, and the rectum. The digestive
system breaks down the food and liquid we eat into smaller
components so that its nutrients can be easily absorbed into
the bloodstream. Absorbed nutrients include carbohydrates,
proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. The digestive
system also includes the structures through which wastes
pass for elimination and organs that produce juices necessary
for digestion. The glands producing digestive juices include
the salivary glands, the gastric glands in the stomach lining,
the exocrine glands in the pancreas, and the liver and the
gallbladder. The digestive tract and glands jointly contribute
to breaking down the ingested food physically as well as
chemically and to the elimination of nondigestible
components. The digestive process follows three sequential
phases, the cephalic phase, the gastric phase, and the intesti-
nal phase.
Thefirst cephalic phase of the digestion process begins
with preparatory secretions from gastric glands in the stom-
ach in response to the sight and smell of the food. The mouth,
or the oral cavity, does a major role in this phase, by break-
down the food mechanically with teeth and a tongue, and
chemically with digestive enzymes within the saliva. Masti-
cation of food in the mouth with enzymes makes the food be
swallowed down the esophagus to enter the stomach. The
second gastric phase of the digestion process occurs in the
stomach. Transferred food is further broken down by mixing
with gastric acid until it passes into the duodenum. The third
intestine phase begins in the duodenum, where partially
digested food is mixed again with enzymes produced in the
pancreas. In the small intestine, most of the digestion of food
takes place. Some minerals and water are reabsorbed back
into the bloodstream in the colon of the large intestine. The
remaining waste products of digestion become feces and they
are defecated from the rectum via the anus.
The digestive system is supplied by the celiac artery,
which is thefirst major branch of the abdominal aorta. And
the gastrointestinal tract is governed by the enteric nervous
system (ENS), which is one of the main divisions of the
autonomic nervous system (ANS) and consists of a mesh-
like system of neurons. The enteric nervous system (ENS)
controls motor functions, local bloodflow, mucosal trans-
port, and secretions of the digestive system.
Urinar
ystem
Thefunctionoftheurinarysystem,whichisalsocalledthe
renalsystem,istofilterbloodandproduceurineasa
by-productofdigestion.Theurinarysystemiscomposedof
twokidneys,ureters,bladder,andurethra.Thekidneyisan