THE HUMAN BODY

OBJECTIVES

By the end of this booklet you should be able to:-

1] Know what the "Chain of Life" is.

2] Know what the 8 systems of the Human body are.

Our body demands little from us other than food, clothing and shelter. It carries out most of its' important jobs such as breathing and digesting without any conscious effort from us at all. It is usually only when we are ill or have injured our body in some way that we suddenly appreciate just how important it is to us. In future booklets we are going to look at the Structure and Function of the Human Body because a sound understanding of how we work is essential if we are to gain a real appreciation of how the body is involved during Physical Activities.

To live we have to be able to breathe, move and be aware of what is going on around us. we need to get supplies of energy into the body, convert it so that it can be used by the various body parts and also get rid of any waste products.

The body has developed special systems within it in order that these and other life preserving activities can be carried out.

Although we will look at these body systems separately it is important to remember that they all co-operate together to keep the body working effectively.

COPY THE NEXT PASSAGE AS A FOLLOW ON TO THE ABOVE SECTION

THE CHAIN OF LIFE ----- CELLS --TISSUES -- ORGANS -- SYSTEMS

All living things are made up of cells. The most basic living thing consists of one single cell and is called an Amoeba. The amoeba lives in stagnant water

(e.g. ponds) and is so small it cannot be seen by the human eye.

Most cells are less than 1mm in diameter and many are even smaller than that. (A pin head is about 1mm). The human body is made up of millions of cells. Human cells come in many different shapes and sizes according to the job they are designed to do.

Groups of cells, sometimes just a few, sometimes hundreds or thousands even millions, combine together to form tissues. The larger muscles of the body are made of muscle tissue which consists of millions of muscle cells.

Tissues combine together to form organs. The ear is an organ which is made up of skin tissue, nerve tissue, bone tissue, cartilage tissue, and blood tissue.

Lastly, organs combine to form systems. The respiratory system (or breathing system) consists of the following organs:- mouth nose, lungs. The digestive system consists of the mouth, stomach, intestines, liver and other smaller organs.

THE 8 SYSTEMS OF THE HUMAN BODY

1] SKELETAL SYSTEM

2] MUSCULAR SYSTEM

3] CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

4] NERVOUS SYSTEM

5] ENDOCRINE SYSTEM (Glands)

6] RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

7] DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

8] EXCRETORY SYSTEM