Earth and Life Science Notes (Modules 6 and 7)

The Animal Organ Systems

1. Digestive System
- Animal nutrition is the process of taking in, taking apart and taking up the nutrients from the food
source.
- Food processing has four main stages: Ingestion, Digestion, Absorption, and Elimination or Egestion.
- In animals with complete digestive system, where the entrance and exit of food
and waste are different, they have different kind of mechanisms of ingestion
depending on their evolutionary adaptation to their food.

2. Respiratory System
- the respiratory system facilitates breathing.
- in the alveoli tissue of the lungs, the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules between the
air and the bloodstream occurs by passive transport, so that the oxygen is taken in and carbon dioxide
and water are removed.
- gas exchange is very important to animals, as they require oxygen in the production of higher
amount of energy compared to process of production of energy without oxygen.

3. Circulatory System
- in animals with closed circulatory system, the circulatory fluid does not go out of the vessel.
Exchange occurs through diffusion via thinner vessels called capillaries across the interstitial fluid.
- different animals, have adapted different mechanisms in transport such as in fishes where a single
circulation is enough.
- Amphibian double circulation differs from mammalian, crocodilian and avian as blood is mixed. The
presence of one ventricle does not prevent the mixing of blood, unlike in the four-chambered heart of
a mammal, crocodilian and an avian where the ventricle is divided into two. Mixing of blood does not
have major implication on amphibians as:
1) They have low metabolic rate, thus, less need for energy.
2) They have the ability to respire through their skin, thus not needing to fully oxygenate the
blood through the lungs.
4. Urinary System
- in order to remove wastes, animals have the excretory system, which enables it to remove excess salt
or water in the body. Waste removal follows the following processes,
1.) Filtration- the mass movement of water and solutes from plasma to the renal tubule that
occurs in the renal corpuscles.
2.) Reabsorption- the movement of water and solutes from tubule back into the plasma.
3.) Secretion- the continuous secretion of additional substances into the tubular fluid, and
4.) Excretion- it is what goes to the urine.
- Organisms have different wastes in the form of nitrogenous wastes which they need to excrete.

5. Immune System
- the immune system is a complex network of cells and protein that defends the body against infection.
- it defends the internal environment from invading microorganisms and viruses, as well as cancerous
cell growth.
- provides cells that aid in protection of the body from disease via antigen/antibody response.

6. Endocrine System
- the integral parts of the endocrine system include the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, pineal body,
thyroid and parathyroid gland, thymus, adrenal glands, pancreas and ovary that make hormones.
- Hormones are substances which can cause a reaction to a cell, in Greek it literally means to excite. It
is secreted into extracellular fluid such in blood or lymph and transported to target cells to elicit a
specific response, which can be rapid or slow.
- The growth and development of the body are examples of slow and long- term effect of a hormone
while circadian rhythm which is responsible for the sleep and-wake cycles respond to a more rapid
response to a hormone.
- In an endocrine pathway, the reaction involves an endocrine cell, which releases the hormone to the
bloodstream or the lymphatic system, which can attach to receptors of a target cell.

7. Nervous System
- the central nervous system is composed of the brain and spinal cord, while the peripheral nervous
system is composed of corresponding structures outside of these two organs of the nervous system.
- it is responsible for data/information processing which is gathered by the peripheral nervous
system.
- The nervous system has evolved in increasing complexity throughout the different groups of
animals. Connections among the neurons has increased, as seen in the development of the nervous
system from a simple nerve net to a system with ganglia (group of neuron) to encephalized organisms
where concentration of neurons are centered in a head.
8. Muscular System
- The muscular system is an organ system consisting of:
skeletal muscles - composed of muscle cells called the muscle fiber
cardiac muscle or the heart muscle - with involuntary kind of movement
smooth muscle - controlled directly by the autonomic nervous system.
9. Skeletal System
- it provides support and protection, and attachment points for muscles. The skeletal system provides
rigid framework for movement. It supports and protects the body and its parts, produces blood cells,
and stores minerals.
Tissues, Organs, Systems
Tissue - a large group of cells that all have the same purpose or function. Each kind of cell has unique
characteristics such as shape, size, flexibility, color and texture.
- Nerve cell combined with other nerve cell to make nerve tissue.
- Muscle cell combined with other muscle cell to make muscle tissue.
- Bone cell combine with other bone cell to make bone tissue.
Organ - a group of tissues that work together to do a certain job for the body. Some of the human
body’s organs include the stomach, lungs, heart, kidneys, brain and liver.
System - several different organs join to meet and work together to meet the organism’s needs
 Each Body System Works with the Others

 The circulatory system is a good example of how body systems interact with each other. The
heart pumps blood through a complex network of blood vessels.
 when the blood circulates through the digestive system, for example, it picks up nutrients the
body absorbed from the last meal.
 the blood also carries oxygen inhaled by the lungs.
 delivers oxygen and nutrients to the other cells of the body then picks up any waste products
created by these cells, including carbon dioxide, and delivers these waste products to the
kidneys and lungs for disposal
 carries hormones from the endocrine system, and the immune system’s white blood cells that
fight off infection.
 The respiratory system relies on the circulatory system to deliver the oxygen it gathers, while
the muscles of the heart cannot function without the oxygen they receive from the lungs.
 The bones of the skull and spine protect the brain and spinal cord, but the brain regulates the
position of the bones by controlling the muscles.
 The circulatory system provides the brain with a constant supply of oxygen-rich blood while
the brain regulates the heart rate and blood pressure.
 The skeletal system relies on the urinary system to remove waste produced by bone cells; in
return, the bones of the skeleton create structure that protects the bladder and other urinary
system organs.
 The circulatory system delivers oxygen-rich blood to the bones. Meanwhile, the bones are
busy making new blood cells.

Homeostasis – working together of organ systems to maintain internal stability and balance