Human Body Systems and Levels of Organization
Over the course of a day...
• Over the course of a day, you complete many different tasks.
• Whether you are eating, sleeping, or talking to a friend, systems within your body are
interacting at different levels.
• Scientists organize multicellular organisms into five basic levels beginning with cells and
moving to increasingly complex structures.
• These five levels of organization are shown in the Model of the Human Respiratory
System.
Organ Systems
• An **organ system** is two or more organs that work together to perform body functions.
• Organ systems interact to help the organism maintain internal stability, or
**homeostasis**.
• Example: the **muscular system** interacts with the **circulatory system** to help pump
blood and deliver oxygen and nutrients to cells.
Human Body Systems Table
• **Circulatory system**: heart, blood vessels, blood, lymph nodes, lymphatic vessels —
transports oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and wastes; helps regulate body temperature;
collects fluid lost from blood vessels and returns it to the circulatory system.
• **Digestive system**: mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines,
pancreas, gall bladder, liver — breaks down and absorbs nutrients, salts, and water;
transfers digested materials to the blood; eliminates some wastes.
• **Endocrine system**: hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroids, adrenal glands,
pancreas, ovaries, testes — produces hormones that act on target tissues in other organs to
influence growth, development, and metabolism; helps maintain homeostasis.
• **Excretory system**: skin, kidneys, bladder — filters blood and eliminates waste
products; helps maintain homeostasis.
• **Immune system**: white blood cells, thymus, spleen — protects against disease; stores
and generates white blood cells.
• **Integumentary system**: skin, hair, nails, sweat and oil glands — protects against
infection, UV radiation; regulates body temperature.
• **Muscular system**: skeletal, smooth and cardiac muscles — produces voluntary and
involuntary movements; helps to circulate blood and move food through the digestive
system.
• **Nervous system**: brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves — regulates body's response to
changes in internal and external environment; processes information.
• **Reproductive system**: male: testes, penis, associated ducts and glands; female: ovaries,
fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina — produces and transports reproductive cells; provides the
environment for embryonic development in females.
• **Respiratory system**: nose, nasal cavity, pharynx, trachea, lungs — brings in oxygen for
cells; expels carbon dioxide and water vapor.
• **Skeletal system**: bones, cartilage, ligaments, tendons — supports and protects vital
organs; allows movement; stores minerals; bone marrow is site of red blood cell production.
