Laboratory 2.1: Organ Systems

Flashcards covering the major organ systems of the body, their primary functions, and specific anatomical structures identified in a laboratory setting.

Organ System

A group of organs working towards a particular function.

Integumentary System

Forms the external body covering, protects deeper tissue from injury, synthesizes vitamin D, and is the location of sensory receptors and sweat and oil glands.

Skeletal System

Protects and supports body organs, provides the framework muscles use for movement, stores minerals, and is the site where blood cells are formed.

Muscular System

Allows manipulation of the environment, locomotion, and facial expression; maintains posture and produces heat.

Nervous System

The fast-acting control system of the body that responds to internal and external changes by activating appropriate muscles and glands.

Endocrine System

Consists of glands that secrete hormones regulating processes such as growth, reproduction, and nutrient use by body cells.

Cardiovascular System

System where blood vessels transport blood carrying oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and $CO_2$; the heart acts as the pump.

Lymphatic System

Picks up fluid leaked from blood vessels, disposes of debris in the stream, and houses white blood cells involved in immunity.

Respiratory System

Keeps blood supplied with oxygen and removes $CO_2$ through gas exchange in the walls of the air sacs of the lungs.

Digestive System

Breaks food down into absorbable nutrients for distribution to body cells and eliminates indigestible foodstuffs as feces.

Urinary System

Eliminates nitrogen-containing wastes from the body and regulates the water, electrolyte, and acid-base balance of the blood.

Male Reproductive System

Focuses on the production of offspring; testes produce sperm and male sex hormone, while ducts and glands aid in delivery.

Female Reproductive System

Ovaries produce eggs and female sex hormones; remaining structures serve as sites for fertilization, fetus development, and newborn nourishment.

Trachea

Also known as the 'windpipe,' this is a tube with cartilage rings running medially from the larynx.

Mediastinum

The space created by two pleural cavities in the midline of the thoracic cavity, housing the heart and great vessels.

Pericardium

The protective membrane surrounding the heart that creates the pericardial cavity.

Diaphragm

The skeletal muscle forming the inferior border of the thoracic cavity; it is essential for driving the pressure gradients of respiration.

Pyloric sphincter

A band of muscle at the junction of the stomach and small intestine that regulates the emptying of the stomach.

Mesentery

A serous membrane containing blood vessels and fat deposits that anchors the intestines.

Accessory organs

Structures that lie next to the GI tract and have connecting ducts to produce secretions that aid in digestion.

Liver

The most superior, highly vascularized organ in the abdominal cavity that produces bile for collection in the gallbladder.

Lesser omentum

The membrane connecting the liver to the stomach.

Pancreas

A gland dorsal to the stomach that functions in both the digestive system (secretes enzymes) and endocrine system (secretes insulin and glucagon).

Spleen

A dark red flap in the lymphatic system on the lateral left side of the ventral cavity that removes old red blood cells from circulation.

Thyroid

A butterfly-shaped organ that secretes thyroid hormone.

Parathyroid gland

A gland on the posterior aspect of the thyroid that secretes PTH and helps regulate calcium levels.

Thymus

A mass of glandular tissue over the heart that is largest in infants and plays a role in immunity.

Adrenal glands

Retroperitoneal glands found superior/anterior to the kidneys that are associated with the sympathetic nervous system and corticoid hormones.

Kidney

Retroperitoneal, bean-shaped organs against the dorsal wall that filter blood to produce urine.

Ureter

The tube connecting each kidney to the bladder for urine transport.

Uterine horn

A Y-shaped structure in the pig found superior to the bladder on the dorsal wall that houses developing fetuses.

Ductus deferens

A thin tube that carries sperm through the abdominopelvic cavity to the urethra; also known as the vas deferens.

Brain and spinal cord

Nervous tissue in the dorsal cavity encased in bone, involved in communication and coordination between organ systems.