Body Works Thesis
Written in collaboration by:
Mariya
Delaney
Jeff
Zack
The Body has many organs, complications, and systems. Most of these organs belong in the systems. Some systems that will be mentioned are the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, skeletal, nervous, and the lymphatic. All of these organs have very different functions, but if one of the systems don’t work, the whole body will shutdown.
The heart powers the circulatory system. The heart pumps blood throughout your body. Of course the blood doesn’t just flow by itself, it pushes through the circulatory system. The circulatory system is made up of tunnels that the oxygenated blood flows through. Those tunnels are called veins. The circulatory system includes the brain, heart, lungs, liver, stomach, small intestine, the large intestine, kidney, and the leg muscles. Once the oxygenated blood passes these organs, the organ absorbs the oxygen, and lets out carbon dioxide, which we exhale. Blood leaving the left side of the heart flows into arteries that carry oxygen to all parts of your body. In activity 21, we tested “which pump was more like the heart, siphon or pressure?” We found that the pressure bulb was more affective because it pumped faster and was powered more like a heart. The circulatory system is important to the body because it keeps us moving by pumping blood throughout the body.
Heart problems could be the worst experience of your life. From heart failure to clogged arteries, they all spell disaster. Heart attacks start with clogged arteries. Arteries get blocked by cholesterol induced growths, the size of a grain of sand. They grow larger over the years until it is blocked. There is a formula that doctors use to unclog blocked arteries. It is called TBA. If the “heart cells” reach the heart before too many is lost, the heart keeps beating. But unlike other cells, “heart cells” don’t grow back. So in order to stop this from EVER happening, eat foods that are low on cholesterol.
The Digestive system does both mechanical breakdown and chemical breakdown. Every single sip of drink or bite of food goes through your digestive system. After you swallow the food, the food travels down your esophagus (ih-SAW-fuh-gus). The muscle in your esophagus helps the food reach the stomach. By the time the food sets to your small intestine, the food is a thick pasty mixture. Then, your small intestine completes the chemical break down with the help of your liver and pancreas (PAN-kree-us). Then it comes out of your urinary system. We did a lab were we put tables in vinegar and saw which size of tablet dissolves the fastest.1/4 size tablet took1: 30 minutes, 1/2 size tablet took 1:57 minutes, and 1 whole tablet took 10+ minutes.
The purpose of the respiratory system is to breath in oxygen and dispose of carbon dioxide. The main organs in the respiratory system are the lungs. The lungs are made up of air sacks called alveoli. The walls of the alveoli are made up of a thin layer of tissue. When blood enters the lungs, it contains carbon dioxide waste, when it leaves the lungs it contains oxygen. In activity 17, Gas Exchange, we found out how much carbon dioxide is in our exhaled breath. We put the BTB solution in a bag and filled it with our breath. Then we shook the bag and poured the solution in a cup. We saw how many drops of BTB it took to return the solution to its original color. We found out that the class average is about 24 drops.
The skeletal system is used to keep the frame of your body. In some cases it protects organs, such as how the ribs protect the heart and lungs. Bones also help store minerals. Most people don’t know that bones are living organs. They contain two types of marrow. Red marrow is used to produce red blood cells, while yellow marrow is used to store fat for emergency energy. Joints are when two bones meet. There are three types of joints. The gliding joint is used for flexibility in the wrist. Hinge joints are like the hinges on a door, you can find these joints at your knees. The ball and socket joint is used to let your arm move in all directions. The skeletal system is important because without it we would be like puddles on the ground.
The nervous system sends an electrical message throughout the body. The nervous system is the mind and the control of the body. These tasks are done by two subdivisions in the nervous system, central nervous system, (CNS), and the peripheral nervous system, (PNS). The CNS includes your brain, and the spinal cords. The PNS includes your nerves, which are communication passageways. So the electric message can travel through your body.
As the blood flows through your cardiovascular system, some of the fluid leaks out. The capillaries reabsorb most of the fluids, but some are not. The lymphatic system takes care of that. It returns the access fluid to your blood. When the fluids are collected by your lymphatic system, it is transported through vessels. The smallest vessels are called lymph capillaries. From the spaces between cells, lymph capillaries absorb fluid and any partials that are too big to enter the blood capillaries such as: dead cells or cells that are foreign to the body. The fluid and partials absorbed into lymph capillaries are called lymph. A pump does not push lymph. Instead, the squeezing of skeletal muscles provides the force to move the lymph through vessels and valves and help prevent back flow. The lymphatic system is important because it returns the access fluids to the blood.
The body systems need to work together for your body to function properly. The circulatory system is used to pump blood throughout the body. If you don’t take care of your heart it can evolve into heart problems, which could be fatal. The process in which the digestive system functions works with both chemical and mechanical breakdown. Breathing in oxygen and disposing of carbon dioxide waste is the respiratory system’s job. The skeletal system is responsible for keeping the structure of your body. The nervous system is used to send electric messages throughout your body to tell the body parts what to do.
