Semester Final

    As i contemplate and reflect on the vastness of the things I have learned this year in this class I think of some of the major systems that keep our bodies functioning as a whole. I think of systems such as the circulatory system, the digestive system, nervous system, and the reproductive system all of which keep our species as a whole alive, happy, and moving forward.
    The circulatory system, keeps blood and oxygen running through our bodies. The heart pumps out some 5.6 liters of blood into the veins and arteries to be carried throughout our bodies. Through our veins and arteries blood passes nutrients, such as amino acids and electrolytes, gases, hormones,  etc. to and from cells throughout the body to help fight off diseases, stabilize body temp. and to help maintain homeostasis. Blood is not  the only fluid that runs through our veins, lymph. Lymph is simply recycles blood plasma after is has been filtered from the blood cells and returned to lymphatic system. The blood, heart, and blood vessels make up the cardiovascular system, while the lymph, lymph nodes, and the lymphatic vessels make up the lymphatic system, and together they make up the circulatory system.
    Eating, swallowing, the breaking down of food, the absorption of its nutrients, and the excretion of its waste are all part of the digestive system. After we have chewed and swallowed our food it starts to travel past the pharynx, through the esophagus and right into the stomach. The stomach secretes a very potent acid that began breaking up the food into smaller particles, the stomach then begins to slowly empty it contents into the small intestines. The small intestines begin by removing all the nutrients it want from the broken down food and transports them throughout the body. After  what is left of what started out as food reached the end of the small intestines it passes into the large intestine or ascending colon. The ascending colon pushes the waste upward toward the Transverse colon all while sucking out any nutrients the small intestine may have missed. Forming feces by sucking out the water through bacteria and fermentation the transverse colon pushes the feces onto the descending colon. Holding the feces until the body can have a bowel movement and push the feces out through the anus the descending colon is just one more step towards excretion
    Controlling every movement your body make both voluntary and involuntary the nervous system is a vital part of the human body. This system is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and the over 7 trillion nerves throughout the entire body. Touching something or any other sensation of touch your body has started in your nerves. The nerves interpret touch, pain, etc. into electrical signals which are passed through the body and to the spinal cord. The spinal cord, which is a dorsal, fluid filled tube that has over 13,500,000 neurons or neves, transports the electrical signal up to the brain where it is integrated into feeling.
    The reproductive system is different in both man and woman. The male reproductive system mainly includes the testes and the penis, while the female reproductive system mainly includes the ovaries and the uterus. The testicles hang in the scrotum by the spermatic cord. They are outside the body because they need to be cooler than the temperature inside the body, in order to make sperm. The testes also produce hormones to help keep the body working and create new life. The penises function in the reproductive system is transport the sperm to the ovaries or eggs in the female body. The ovaries are a set of glands that hold the eggs and produce estrogen. The uterus is the main holding place for the fetus while it developes into a mature baby ready to be born.
    All of these individual system work together to make us healthy and able to reproduce and make more of our species to continue on the intellectual legacy of the human race. Although i will miss this class im happy to say that i've learned alot of things and had fun doing it. I'm ready to move on and use this information for the better when i go to college and get my nursing degree.