Human Organ Systems

Michael Raucci, D.C., D.I.B.C.N

Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist

Humans Have 12 Major Organ Systems

• Integumentary System• Muscular System• Skeletal System• Cardiovascular System• Nervous System• Lymphatic System• Digestive System

• Endocrine System• Respiratory System• Excretory System• Immune System• Reproductive System

- Male

- Female

Integumentary System

• Skin, hair, and nails– Protects underlying tissues

Skin - Water-proof – keeps water in or out and foreign particles out (due to keratinization)

– Has nerve endings for senses– Regulates body temperature with sweat glands

(evaporation causes cooling). Sweat also removes some wastes

Skin Color

• Genetically determined

• Melanin – skin pigment– Absorbs harmful radiation reducing DNA

damage

Skin layers• Epidermis – epithelial tissue

– Mostly dead cells filled with the protein keratin

– outer portion of skin

• Dermis – mostly connective tissue– lies below the epidermis with

a lot of the protein collagen

Within the Skin1) Blood Vessels 4) hair follicles2) Nerves and Receptors 5) oil glands3) Muscle fibers attached to hairs 6) sweat glands

Glands

• Sweat – sweat is 99% water, also dissolved salt and ammonia

• Oil – sebaceous – lubricate and soften hair and skin

•

Vitamin D

• Steroid like compound

• Helps the body absorb Calcium

• Produced in the skin

• Supplemented by dietary intake

• Anti-cancer properties

Hair and Nails

• Hair - Can protect skin from UV radiation– Melanin gives it its color– In most mammals it can assist in body

temperature regulation by standing the hair up and creating a blanket effect

• Nails – protect toes and fingertips– Grow from a nail bed

Abnormalities• Wounds – heal via clotting, immune system

and new regeneration or scar tissue

• Cancer – damaged genetic material results in abnormal growth of cells and tissues.

Keratosis (mole) Squamous cellCarcinoma

Melanoma Basal CellCarcinoma

Neurofibromatosis

keloid

Skin tag

Muscular System

– Move bones – by contracting and relaxing– Maintain posture – continuously active– Squeeze and pump – assist the circulatory system

                                                

3 types of muscles

• Smooth – digestive system – moves food and waste through the system via peristalsis. Uses predominantly involuntary muscles.

• found within the "walls” of hollow organs; such as blood vessels, bladders, uteri. gastrointestinal tracts

• Cardiac – found only in the heart – self excitatory

• Skeletal – attached to the bones for movement

•How would you characterize this muscle? The nuclei are

centrally located, there are no striations, and the muscle

fibers do not branch. Another good clue that this is smooth muscle is that when smooth muscle contracts, the nuclei

take on a corkscrew appearance.

Involuntaryvisceral systems, arteries and veins, digestive tract, bladder,

uterus

Smooth Muscle

Cardiac Muscle

• How would you characterize this muscle? The nuclei are centrally located, striations are present, and there is branching of the muscle fibers. Several intercalated discs are indicated by the white arrow heads.

Skeletal Muscle• How would you characterize

this muscle? The nuclei are peripheral, striations are present, and there is no branching of the muscle fibers. Even when you cannot visualize striations, the peripherally placed nuclei allow you to differentiate skeletal muscle from both cardiac and smooth muscle.

• Voluntary

• Striations = overlapping strands

Muscle Definitions• Voluntary – under conscious

control• Involuntary – work irregardless

of thought• Tendons – strands of connective

tissue located at the ends of muscle. Attach the muscle to the bone

• Flexor – bend a part of the body• Extensor – straighten a part of the body• Muscle tone – a baseline contraction that a

muscle maintains even during relaxation * Many muscles work in pairs (contraction &

relaxation)

Exercise

• Resistance (weights, bands, gravity, etc.) – increase the size and strength of a muscle– Isometric – contraction without movement– Isotonic – contraction creates movement of a

unchanging weight (barbell)– Isokinetic – contraction creates movement of a

changing weight (nautilus machine)

• Aerobic (running, swimming, cycling, etc) – improves the stamina of a muscle particularly the heart.– Defined as a sustained raising of the heart rate

                               

Growth

• Muscles grow in length in response to a stretch.

• Muscles grow in bulk in response to a need.

Injury

• Muscle strain• Ruptured tendon

•Overstretching or overuse

•Overuse can be a singular event or a repetitive activity

•Inflammation

Treatment

• Ice or heat?

• Immobilization or mobilization?

R – restI – IceC – CompressionE - Elevation

                             

   

What’s wrong with thesePictures?

Steroids• Anabolic Steroids – powerful

chemicals that resemble the male hormone testosterone.

Damages: heart, liver, kidneys, testes in men,labido, hirsuitism inwomen, emotional instability

Skeletal System

• Bones, cartilage and ligaments

• The bones in your skeleton are alive

• Bones - Protect and support. Also provide anchoring and framework for muscles to act upon

Cartilage to Bone

• All bone starts out as cartilage and undergoes ossification at different times during childhood

• Spongy bone vs Compact bone

• Growth Plates

The KneeJoint

What’s in a bone?

• Compact bone• Spongy bone – not really

“spongy” – actually provides most of the strength of the bone via trabeculation

• Compact bone – the hard, solid outer surface

• Marrow – inside the bone – stores fat and makes new red blood cells

• Cartilage lines the surface of a joint and is the flexible material found in the ears and tip of the nose

• Joint– Sliding-vertebra– Ball and socket-shoulder, hip– Hinge- elbow, knee, jaw

• Ligaments – connect bones to bones

• Growth plates – cartilage surfaces which allow bones to grow in length. These close by age 15 in girls and 18 in boys

Levers and lifting

• How do levers work?

• How do you increase the effectiveness of a lever

• What is the safest way to lift?

Cardiovascular system teaching aides

• Why do we need blood? Why do we need oxygen?• Discuss women’s increased need for iron d/t menses• WBC demo – 2 volunteers – 1 is a pathogen and 1 is a macrophage. I

am the WBC and I bump into cells of my own and recognize them but when I bump into a pathogen I make antibodies (Piece of blue tape) which attaches to pathogen and all its clones. Macrophage (24 hour buffet) only eats things that are marked with antibodies.

• Use same demo to explain why can’t get chicken pox twice. Also explain how modifying a virus allows us to create a vaccine. And how an antibiotic works.

• Platelets – discuss hemophilia• Heart - have demo heart available. Squeezing it makes no noise.

Noise is created when the vavles slap shut. Like slapping hands together.

CardiovascularSystem (circulatory system)

• AKA Circulatory System

• Heart pumps blood through all the blood vessels supplying nutrients and removing wastes to cells

• Heart, arteries, veins, capillaries

Blood

• An adult human body contains approximately 5 liters of blood

• Plasma – the liquid part of the blood (water, minerals, nutrients, sugars, proteins, etc.)

• Solids – RBCs, WBCs, Platelets

Red Blood Cells

• Red blood cells (RBCs) – transport oxygen and carbon dioxide– Hemoglobin – the protein in blood that carries the

oxygen

– Hemoglobin contains iron (FE++)

– RBCs are made in the bone marrow

– RBCs lose all their organelles including their nucleus before entering the bloodstream thus they cannot divide and they can live only about 4 months

White Blood Cells

• Fight pathogens (foreign invaders in the body)

• WBCs release antibodies – mark pathogens for elimination

• Macrophage – engulfs foreign objects via endocytosis

• Made in bone marrow

Platelets

• Fragments of cells

• Live 5-10 days

• Form plugs when there is a cut and release chemicals that react with proteins in the blood to form a net of clotting fibers (Scab)

Heart

• Muscular organ• Located in the center of your chest behind the lungs• Size of your fist• Pumps blood through the body• Human heart has 4 chambers (left and right atria

[upper level chambers] and left and right ventricles [lower level chambers])

• Valves – close after the expulsion of blood to prevent back flow– Lub-dub is the valves closing

Blood flow in the heart

• Deoxygenated blood is brought to the right atrium via the Vena Cava.

• This is then pumped into the right ventricle• From the right ventricle the deoxygenated blood is

pumped into the blood vessels of the lungs where oxygen perfuses into the blood

• The now oxygenated blood reenters the heart going into the left atrium.

• It is then pumped into the left ventricle.• Finally it is pumped out of the left ventricle into the

body via the aorta

Circulation

Circulation• From the body into the Vena Cava• From the Vena Cava in the heart’s right atrium• Right ventricle• Pulmonary artery• To the lung• From the lung into the pulmonary vein• Into the left atrium• Left ventricle• Pumped into the aorta and out to the body

Blood Vessels

• 3 types– Arteries – carry blood away from the heart. Arteries

have thick muscular walls

– Capillaries – the smallest blood vessels. Usually only one cell thick. Allow nutrients, oxygen and other substances to diffuse through

– Veins – the veins transport the blood from the capillaries back to the heart. Veins have valves. The contraction of skeletal muscles helps to move the blood through the veins

What is Blood Pressure?

• Definition – the force exerted by blood on the walls of a blood vessel.

• 120/80 systolic/diastolic• Systolic is the pressure

when the ventricles contract• Diastolic is the pressure when the ventricles relax.• What’s the problem with high or low blood

pressure?Hypertension is a dangerous condition that may lead to heart attack,

stroke or kidney failure

Exercise and Blood Flow

• Exercise means increased need for energy hence increased need for oxygen thus the heart must beat faster (and you must breathe faster)

• Also blood is shunted away from internal organs towards the large muscles.

How does exercise help the heart?

Blood Type• Type A – has A antigens, and B antibodies

• Type B – has B antigens, A antibodies

• Type AB – has A and B antigens, have no antibodies to A or B

• Type O – has no antigens, have both A and B antibodies

Who is the universal donor?Who is the universal recipient?

Cardiovascular Diseases

• Effect heart, blood vessels and/or the blood.

• Atherosclerosis - #1 cause of death in the USA-blood vessels become narrower due to fatty (cholesterol)

buildup until they are blocked.

-If the blood vessels that supply oxygen to the heart mussel are blocked the effected area of heart muscle will die (AKA Heart Attack)

• Hypertension (high blood pressure) – blood vessels become weak and heart is overworked

• Stroke – when a blood vessel in the brain fails, bursts or becomes clogged (dissection, aneurysm, and embolism)

• DVT- deep vein thrombosis

Coronary Artery Disease

Thrombus with recanalizationatherosclerosis

90% closed Total closure

Lymphatic System

• Returns leaked fluids to blood vessels.

• Also involved in immunity

• Involved in reducing swelling

• Lymph (the fluid) is moved by

the squeezing of skeletal muscles.

• Question: Why must a paraplegic

(legs are paralyzed) have someone

move their legs for them occasionally?

• Question: Why might it be bad for a person

who has varicose veins to sit for a long period of time?

What is the

Lymphatic System?

 

The Lymphatic or "lymph" system is commonly known as "the garbage disposal system" of the body. It is often referred to as the "second circulatory system" and flows throughout the entire body. It is through the Lymphatic System that toxic substances move out of the body through the bloodstream.

Why is it important for your health to maintain your Lymphatic System?

When your Lymphatic System is blocked or clogged, this creates a condition of stagnation which promotes fatigue and ill health. Some of the common symptoms include lumps, bumps, pain and swelling.

How does the Lymphatic System become clogged or blocked?

Unlike the blood circulatory system, the Lymphatic System has no pump to keep fluid flowing. Some causes of a blocked lymph system are due in part to stress, lack of exercise, improper diet and repressed communication.

What are lymph nodes?

All the small and medium-sized lymph vessels open into lymph nodes which are situated in strategic positions throughout                                                                  the body. The lymph drains through a number of nodes, usually 8 to 10, before returning to the blood. These nodes vary considerably in size: some as small as a pin head and the largest are about the size of an almond.

Lymph nodes are found throughout the body. in inflammation and malignant disease. As a result, palpation (feeling) of the neck, armpits and the groin area is an important part of clinical investigation. Lymph from the head and neck passes through deep and superficial cervical nodes.

Lymph Organs

• Lymph Nodes – bean sized and shaped organs which remove dead cells and pathogens (bacteria) from the blood

• Thymus – Makes WBCs but becomes completely or nearly completely inactive by teens.

• Spleen – filters blood and also releases WBCs. Older more fragile RBCs are broken down and the parts are recycled here.

• Tonsils – defend against infection entering from the oral and nasal cavities.. Can become infected themselves.

Clotting

Respiratory System

• Absorb oxygen and release carbon dioxide

• Breathing and respiration are not the same thing. Breathing is part of respiration.

• Respiration is a 2 part process– 1) breathing – 2) cellular respiration – the

chemical reactions that release energy from food

• Nose

• Pharynx – connects nose to back of mouth

• Larynx – includes the vocal cords

• Trachea – surrounded by cartilage

• Bronchi – 2 main tubes split into thousands of bronchioles

• Lungs – gas and water exchange

Breathing

• Air is expelled when the diaphragm relaxes causing the chest cavity to shrink, hence pushing air out.

•Air is brought in when the diaphragm contracts, enlarging the chest cavity and creating a negative pressure which makes air rush in.

Alveoli

• Alveoli – the tiny sacs at the end of bronchiole branches. They are surrounded by capillaries.

• At the alveoli carbon dioxide and water is forced in to the sac and oxygen is is forced out of the sac into he capillary.

Respiratory Diseases

• Asthma – bronchioles constrict and release mucous. Often triggered by an irritant.

• Pneumonia – the lungs fill with fluids (primarily caused by an infection)

• Emphysema – The alveoli increase in size and decrease in number

• Lung Cancer - #1 cause is smoking

•

Hyperventilation

• Decreases CO2 in the blood thus raising the pH (increased alkalinity)

• Also can be a caused by metabolic acidosis

Digestive System

• Breaks down food into absorbable nutrients

• Begins in the mouth and ultimately involves teeth, tongue, salivary glands, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, gallbladder, small intestines and large intestines

The mouth• Teeth• Salivary glands – secrete

saliva which has enzymes to begin digestion.

• Esophagus – a muscular potential tube. Moves food down via peristalsis (rhythmic contractions which propel food in one direction)

The stomach• A muscular baglike organ• Attached to the esophagus on the

superior end and to the small intestines on the inferior end

• Produces acids and enzymes which break food into nutrients

• Grinds and mixes food with contractions

• After hours of grinding and acid mixing a sludge called chyme is released into the small intestines

Liver, Gallbladder, and Pancreas

• Liver – produces bile which is stored in the gallbladder and which is then released into the small intestines (bile helps to digest fats)– The liver also stores nutrients– Cleanses the blood– Makes most of the cholesterol in your

body (needed for cell membranes)• Pancreas – produces digestive enzymes

- Also produces insulin for the absorption of sugar from the blood into other tissues

The Small Intestines

• A small muscular tube• Covered with villi – inside the

villi there are nutrient absorbing cells. Villi greatly increase the absorptive surface area.

• This is where the majority of absorption (into the bloodstream) takes place.

• Movement of chyme occurs through peristalsis

The Large Intestines

• Stores, compacts and eliminates undigested material – re-absorption of water creates a solid material (feces or stool).

• Also does Vitamin K absorption

• Rectum – the last section of the large intestines

• Anus – the opening to the outside

Problems in the Digestive System

• Heartburn – backflow of chyme from the stomach into the esophagus (ineffective sphincter – a ringed muscle at the junction between the esophagus and the stomach)

• Constipation – body does not get enough fiber, water, exercise or peristalsis is stopped or slowed and the contents of the rectum are very dry

• Diarrhea – too little water is removed from the large intestine. Can cause dangerous dehydration.

• Colon Cancer – • Gastric Ulcer – an open sore in the stomach

Ulcer

Diverticulosis

• http://www.nature.com/gimo/contents/pt1/fig_tab/gimo13_V1.html

• http://health.howstuffworks.com/adam-200088.htm

• http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/colonoscopy/MM00010

• Removes wastes from the blood and regulates body fluids and salts.

• Excretion – the process of removing wastes and excess products from the body by passing through a memebrane (skin, lungs, urinary system)

Excretory (Urinary) System

Kidneys• A paired organ • Filter 2000L of blood each day • Functional part is the nephron• Nephrons – remove urea,

water and excess salts from the kidney

• From the kidneys urine travels down the ureters to the centrally located bladder and is ultimately expelled through the urethra

• Why do we sweat?

• Why do we get thirsty?

• What is a diuretic?

Kidney Problems

• Infections

• Kidney Stones

• Kidney Disease– dialysis                       

Ketosis

Ammonia (highly) toxic is produced as a waste of protein break down. The liver converts the ammonia into the less toxic urea which gets excreted by the kidneys

Nervous System• Receives and sends electrical

messages throughout the body• Everything you hear, see, feel,

think, taste, smell etc. is perceived in the nervous system.

• How would you explain what sound is to someone who has been totally deaf since birth or what a color is to someone who has been totally blind since birth?

Definitions• Neuron – the impulse

transmitting and conducting cells of the body.

• Body

• Dendrite – receiving structures (many of these)

• Axon – transmitting structures

• Nerve – axons bundled together with blood vessels and connective tissue

NEURONS

The Peripheral Nervous System

• The peripheral nervous system is all the nerve structures located outside of the spinal cord

• Sensory System– neurons gather information from the environment through receptors (specialized dendrites)

• Motor System – neurons send information from the brain to other parts of the body which results in muscular contractions.– 1) Voluntary System– 2) Autonomic (or involuntary) System

The Central Nervous System

• The Brain, brainstem, and the spinal cord

Brain

• Cerebrum – right and left hemispheres– Thinking, memory,

voluntary movements, personality, sight, hearing, etc.

• Cerebellum – inferior to the posterior of the brain– Responsible for balance,

coordination of muscular movements, and proprioception (awareness of respective position of body parts)

                         

                                       

Sagital View

Lateral view

Brainstem

• Midbrain • Medulla • Pons• The brainstem is often referred to as just medulla

though this is not correct• Controls important involuntary activities like

breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, etc.

Spinal Cord• Contained within the vertebra

which when stacked upon each other form a canal known as the spinal canal.

• The connection between the brain and the rest of the body

• Why does someone who suffers a spinal injury in their lower back only paralyzed in their legs?

• Why would a spinal cord injury at or above the middle of the neck be incompatible with life?

What is a reflex?

The Senses

• Sight

• Hearing

• Touch

• Taste

• Smell

Eyes

Ears

•

Nose and Tongue

•

Touch

Endocrine System

• Glands regulate body functions by sending out chemical messengers.

• Slow but lasting and systemic

The Endocrine Glands

• Pituitary gland

• Hypothalamus

• Pineal gland

• Thyroid gland

• Thalamus

• Parathyroid gland

• Thymus

• Adrenal glands

• Pancreas

• Ovaries

• Testes

Hormonal Feedback Mechanisms

Hormonal Imbalances

Immune System

• Fights disease and foreign invaders to the body. Eliminates dysfunctional cells.

Male Reproductive System

• Produces and delivers sperm

Female Reproductive System

• Produces eggs and nourishes and shelters the unborn baby

Irregularities

Irregularities and Disorders

• Multiple Births- One pair of identical twins is born for every how many births?

One in 250 births!

Oh No!

• Humans can have triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets, and more.

• The chance of quadruplets is one in 705,000 births.

Infertility

• Unable to have children

• In the U.S. 15% of married couples have difficulty producing offspring.

STD

• Sexually Transmitted Disease

• AIDS