But unlike a machine, it has the capacity to feel pleasure and is sensitive to pain, right? No machine, however futuristic, could match our body's ability to grow and to repair broken bones and damaged tissues, or its even more remarkable ability to generate new life.
We may want to know that our body contains trillions of microscopic structures called cells. Cells which have the ability to absorb nourishment, grow, excrete wastes and increase in numbers by dividing in two. Not only that, the various collections of cells make up our body tissues such as skin, muscle and bone. It is interesting to know that tissues are further grouped to form organs, such as the heart, lungs and stomach. Therefore, a set of organs make up a system, and the ultimate physical aim of the systems, working together, is to convert food into energy to keep our body working in its optimum position!
When food has passed through the mouth, it is broken down in the digestive system into smaller units by the action of chemical substances called enzymes. It is then absorbed into the body where they are partly used as fuel.
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
A supply of oxygen is needed for the burning of fuel in the body. Oxygen is taken in from the lungs, a major function of the respiratory system, and is distributed to the tissues by the blood, carried in the blood vessels and pumped by the heart.
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
The blood vessels and the heart make up the circulatory system, which also conveys foodstuff and waste products around the body. The body gets rid of waste products formed by the release of energy by a process known as excretion.
URINARY SYSTEM
Carbon dioxide and some water are excreted from the lungs in the air that we breathe out. Water and salts are lost from the skin through sweat, and water and salts, together with complex waste products such as urea and uric acid are excreted from the kidneys.
The urinary system also includes connecting tubes known as the Ureters (from the kidneys to the bladder) and the urethra (from the bladder to outside the body). The bladder is a reservoir for urine until it is released from the body. Fibrous wastes and indigestible food residues pass out of the body in the form of faeces (also known as fecal or feces).
MUSCULO-SKELETOL SYSTEM
Some of the energy produced by the body keeps the various systems working while the rest is used for movement. This is achieved by the locomotor system, which consists of muscles, when it acts on the bony skeleton. The bones provide a framework for the whole body while protecting the vital organs, such as the lungs and the brain from injury.
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
Acting on information provided by the sense organs, such as the eyes and ears, the brain and the rest of the nervous system can control a variety of bodily processes, either directly or by causing various glands to release hormones, which in turn act on the tissues. The release of the many types of hormones into the blood stream is controlled by the endocrine system, a series of glands in different parts of the body that regulate growth.
REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
The body also has the ability to perpetuate the species by reproduction through the reproductive system. This involves the creation of new life by the merging of two sex cells, namely, a sperm from the male and an egg from the female, and the subsequent development while protected inside the female body.
NERVOUS SYSTEM
The nervous system is divided into two main systems, the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system. The spinal cord and the brain make up the CNS. Its main job is to get the information from the body and send out instructions. The peripheral nervous system is made up of all of the nerves and the wiring. This system sends messages from the brain to the rest of the body.
With this understanding, would you agree with me that our body is such a marvelous machine?
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