Download Investigation 4

Kaitlyn Kraybill-Voth
Period 3
Investigation 4
Cells to Tissues to Organs to Organ Systems—How Do Cells and Organs Work
Together?
Cells to Tissues to Organs Overview
There are many different types of specialized cells in multicellular organisms that have
many different functions. For example there are muscle cells, nerve cells, and blood cells.
Specific types of cells performs specific jobs. A single cell from a multicellular organism
cannot survive on its own. Cells in plants and animals are grouped together in issues. A
tissue is a group of similar cells that are organized to carry out a certain function. The
tissue systems in plants and animals varies, the three tissue systems of a plant include the
dermal tissue system, the vascular tissue system, and the ground tissue system. The
dermal tissue system is a single layer of tightly packed cells that cover and protect the
young parts of the plant. (For example the waxy cticle that helps the plant keep water in
leaves and stems.) The vascular tissue system is the xylem and phoem that make up the
plant vascular tissue system. Nutrients and water and other substances are transported
through this system and is circulated throughout the plan. The ground tissue system is
predominately cells in the roots, stem, leafs, and storage organs. The types of animal
tissues include the muscle tissue (contracts to allow them to move a bone or organ), the
nerve tissue (carries electrical impulses from one part of the body to another), the
epithelial tissue (protects the structures under them (like skin)), and the connective tissue
(joins all parts of the organism (tendons, ligaments, bones, blood.) These tissues working
together make up an organ to perform its own particular function. These organs and
tissues working together form an organ system. An organism can have a few organ
systems, humans have around forty organs and about 10 organ systems. Plants have stem
and leaves as a system.
The Circulatory System
On average, the human body has approximately five liters of blood continually traveling
through it by the way of the circulatory system. The circulatory system is responsible for
transporting materials throughout the entire body. These materials include nutrients,
water, and oxygen to the billions of body cells. It also carries away wastes (like carbon
dioxide) that body cells produce. It is an incredible highway that travels throughout your
entire body, connecting all your body cells. The heart, the lungs, and the blood vessels
work together to form the circle part of the circulatory system. The heart’s pumping
forces the blood on its journey. The body’s circulatory system has three distinct parts: the
pulmonary circulation, coronary circulation, and systemic circulation. (The
lungs=pulmonary, the heart=coronary, and the rest of the system=systemic) each part has
to be working independently in order for them all to work together.
The Heart: The Heart is an amazing organ. The heart beats about three billion times
during an average lifetime. It is a muscle about the size of your fist. It is located in the
center of your chest (slightly to the left.) It’s function is to pump your blood and keep the
blood moving throughout your body.
The Blood: Blood is a fascinating substance that is continually flowing through our
bodies. It is pumped by the heart and travels through thousands of miles of blood vessels
within our bodies. Blood carries nutrients, water, oxygen, and waste products to and from
body cells. Blood is not simply a red liquid but rather a combination of liquids, solids,
and small amounts of oxygen and CO2.
Red Blood Cells: Red Blood Cells are responsible for carrying O and CO2. They gather
O in the lungs and transport it to all the body cells. After delivering the O to the cells it
picks up the CO2 and takes it back to the lungs where it is removed from the body (in our
exhalations.) There are about 5,000,000 Red Blood Cells in a single drop of blood.
White Blood Cells (Germinators): White Blood Cells help the body fight off germs. They
attack and destroy intruding germs. When you have an infection, your body will produce
more White Blood Cells to fight that infection.
Platelets: Platelets are blood cells that help stop bleeding. When we cut ourselves we
have a broken blood vessel where the blood leaks out. To plug up the holes where the
blood is leaking from the, the platelets stick to the opening of the damaged vessel where
they attract more platelets, fibers, and other blood cells to help form a plug to seal the
broken blood vessel. When the platelet plug is totally formed, the would will stop
bleeding.
Plasma: Plasma is the liquid part of the blood. About half of your blood is made of
plasma. The plasma carries the blood cells and other components through the body. It is
made in the liver.
The Blood Vessels: There are three main types—Arteries, Capillaries, and Veins.
Arteries: Arteries are blood vessels that carry O rich blood away from the heart.
Capillaries: Capillaries are tiny blood vessels as thin (or thinner) than our head hairs.
They connect arteries to veins. Nutrients, O, and wastes pass in and out of the blood
through the capillary walls.
Veins: Veins carry blood back to the heart.
The Digestive System
The digestive system is the series of tube-like organs that convert our meals into body
fuel. In total, there are about 30 feet of these pipe works, beginning with the mouth and
ending with the anus. Along the way, food is broken down, sorted, and reprocessed
before being circulated around the body to nourish and replace cells and supply energy
for our muscles. Flood first needs to become a mashed-up, gooey liquid for the digestive
system to be able to split it up into its constituent parts (proteins, carbohydrates, fats,
vitamins, and minerals.) Our teeth begin this process by chewing and grinding up each
mouthful of food which the tongue works it into a bolus for swallowing. Saliva fed into
the mouth from blands starts the process of chemical digestion uses proteins called
enzymes. Enzymes break down large molecules of food into smaller molecules that the
body can absorb. After we swallow, digestion stops being voluntary. Food passes down
the throat to the esophagus. The esophagus empties into the stomach which is a large,
muscular chamber where the food is mixed with digestive juices. Hydrochloric acid helps
to dissolve the stomach contents which killing bad bacteria. He resulting paste—chyme—
Is sealed in the stomach for several hours and then is released into the duodenum. This is
the first of three sections of the small intestine. What is left in the digestive tract passes
into the large intestine where it is eaten by billions of harmless bacteria and mixed with
dead cells to form solid feces. Finally water is reabsorbed into the body which the feces
are moved into the rectum to await expulsion. (lovely.) Other organs that play important
roles in digestion include the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. The Pancreas: is a glod
organ that manufactures enzymes that are pumped into the duodenumThe Gallbladder:
squeezes out green-brown bile. The Liver: performs hundred of different of functions. It
is the bodies main chemical factory.
The Excretory System
If you knew there were toxins hidden away in your home, you would do everything you
could to find and remove that poison. The task/system of searching for it and then
removing it would be like that of the excretory system. Our human bodies do the same
thing every day. There are poisons in our bodies that have to be removed in order for us
to survive. The process of excretion involves finding and removing waste materials
produced by the body. The primary organs of excretion are the lungs, kidneys, and skin.
Waste gases are carried by blood traveling through the veins to the lungs where
respiration happens. Dead cells and sweat are removed from the body by the skin. Liquid
waste is removed from the body through the kidneys. During circulation, blood passes
through the kidneys to deposit used and unwanted materials (water, minerals, and urea.)
The kidneys filter the wastes from the blood forming the liquid urine. Excellent. The
kidneys then funnel the urine into the bladder in two tubes called urethers. Each day your
kidneys produce around 1 and 1 half liters of urine. It is removed from your system by
the process of urination. If the kidneys are diseased and not working properly one can
contract various kidney diseases.
Respiratory System
By the time we are 70 years old, we have taken at least 600 million breaths. All this
breathing could not happen without the respiratory system. Each cell in an animal’s body
must receive oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. This begins to occur when air first
passes into the nostrils where it is filtered by nasal hairs and warmed and humidified in
the nasal cavity and sinuses. Then the air passes through the pharynx that is shard with
the digestive tract. Air next passes through the larynx (e.g adam’s apple, voice box, or
vocal cords.) The larynx is located at the top end of the trache where the air passes next.
The lining of the tracea brushes debris up and out. This tissue is destroyed by smoking.
The trachea divides at the bottom into two bronchi, one to each lung. The muscus in the
bronchi traps and coats dust particles so that they do not infect or scratch the lung tissues.
The bronchi divides the lunchs into smaller brances called bronchioles. The smallest
bronchioles branch to the alveoli are made up of simple squamous cells. Their thin wall
allows air exchange withing the capillaries of the circulatory.
To get air to all the cells of the body, in mallels, hemoglobin in the RBCs carries oxygen
everywhere in the body. There are many diseases and disorders of the respiratory tract.
They include hiccups, laryngitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma, emphysema, lunch
cancer, and many others.
The Nervous System
The nervous system is a biological information highway responsible for controlling all
the biological processes and movement in our bodies, it receives information and
interprets it with electrical signals that are used in the whole nervous system. The CNS
(Central Nervous System) is the center of the nervous system. It is the part that processes
the information that it receives from the peripheral nervous system. The brain, the spinal
cord, are all part of the CNS. It is responsible for receiving and interpreting signals from
the peripheral nervous system and also sends out signals to it. This information highway
also consists of many nerve cells (neurons)
The Nerve Cell:
Each neuron consists of a
nucleus in the cell body. The main one of these processes is the axon (this is responsible
for carrying outgoing messages from the cell.) This axon can originate from the CNS and
extends to the bodies extremities to provide a highway for messages to come and go from
the CNS to these body extremities. The “all or none law” applies to nerve cell
communication as they use an on/off signal so the message can be clear and effective
from its travel from the CNS to the target cell (or the other way around.)
Classification of Neurons: Interneurons are neurons lying entirely within the CNS.
Afferent Neurons are also known as sensory neurons. They send impulses towards the
CNS and away from the peripheral system. Efferent Neurons are nerve cells that carry
signals from the CNS to the cells in the peripheral system.
Plant Organs
Four main plant organs allow the life processes to take place. The first is the flower. The
flower contains the organs of plant sexual reproduction. It attracts insects that carry the
pollen between plants for pollination. The second is the stem. The stem is the organ that
holds the leaves upright and racing the light. It carries water and minerals to the leaves
and nutrients around the plant. The stem is important for nutrition, excretion, and growth.
The third is the leaves. The leaves are the organs of photosynthesis. They make all the
food that the plant needs. They have chlorophyll-chlorophyll uses light energy to change
CO2 and water into glucose. They also have little pores that allow essential CO2 in and
waste out. Leaves are important for nutrition and excretion. The fourth are the roots. The
root is the organ that provides anchorage for the plant so it doesn’t blow away or fall
over. The root hairs provide a large surface area to help take in water and minerals from
the soil. This is essential for photosynthesis. The root is important for nutrition. All these
organs are sensitive to the surroundings. The flowers might close at night and the shoot
will grow and move to find light. Every cell in the plant will respire and change glucose
into energy.
Conclusion
It is important to remember that these systems (human and plant separated) do not exist
as individual units. The final product of these cooperating systems is a single unit called
the body. Each system depends on the others, directly or indirectly, to keep the body
functioning.