- Review of the Functions of the Skeletal System
The skeletal system has about six general functions in the body of an organism. It is indicated that the skeletal system forms a vital section of the body because there are other numerous functions that particular bones perform in the body. These different bones are situated in the various parts of the body according to their functionality. The first function of the skeleton is the provision of support to softer tissues as well as giving points of attachment for most of the skeletal body muscles. The body tissues and muscles could collapse in the absence of skeletal system. In addition, the skeletal system provides mechanical protection for internal organs of the body such as the brain, the heart and others and thus they reduce the risk of injury to them. This is achieved through the covering of these organs. For instance, the spinal cord is protected by the vertebrae, the brain is protected by the cranial bones and the heart is protected by the lungs (Marieb, Hoehn & Steele, 2011).
The other function of the skeleton is the assistance that it provides in movement. Since the skeletal muscles are attached to the skeleton, their contraction and relaxation results in the movement of bones. Therefore, it causes the occurrence of locomotion. The skeleton also stores a number of essential minerals in the body such as phosphorus (P), Calcium (Ca) and others. The bones release these minerals to the blood system when they are needed hence they help in maintaining the balance of minerals in the body. Another function of the skeletal system is the production of blood cells which occur inside the red bone marrows. Production of blood cells is vital for the maintenance of blood in the body by replacing the worn out ones. Lastly, bones also act as sites for storage of chemical energy. It is indicated that, the red bone marrow changes to a yellow bone marrow when an individual is aging. The yellow bone marrow is composed of adipose cells that act as chemical energy reserve. Therefore, the aged are able to have energy supplied to the blood system for metabolic processes (Marieb, Hoehn & Steele, 2011).
- Review of the Function of Particular Muscles of Cardiac, Smooth and Skeletal Muscles
The skeletal muscle is voluntarily controlled. They are usually attached to the bones through the collagens. This muscle has myocytes which is formed from myoblasts. According to literature, a skeletal muscle which is sometimes cylindrical and has many nucleuses is referred to as myofibers. The main function of the skeletal muscle is locomotion and support of the bones. An example of the skeletal muscle is the biceps. Biceps are found in different parts of the body namely the elbow, shoulder and palm etc. Therefore, the bicep is usually found on the arm. It is said to have two heads. It also originates from the shoulder blade. Due to its location, the biceps enables the movement of the upper arm; this happens when a person puts the arm in-front and side. In addition, the short head of the bicep causes movement when an individual pulls his or her arm to the side. Other than movement, it is said to be a stabilizer of shoulder joint (Saladin, 2010).
Other than the skeletal muscles, the body has cardiac muscles which are mainly located in the heart. It is usually used to pump blood from the heart to other parts of the body. The cells in the muscles have one nucleus and are called cardimyocytes. The smooth muscles, on the other hand, are mainly located in the stomach and blood vessels etc. They are said to be involuntary in nature. An example of a smooth muscle is that of the stomach whose functions are to grind,
crash and mix food. Moreover, their contraction allows the movement of food from the stomach to the intestines (Saladin, 2010).
- Review of the Functioning of the Cardiovascular and Lymphatic Systems
The cardiovascular system is also known as the circulatory system. It is composed of the heart (cardiovascular), the vein, arteries, coronary and portal vessels (systemic) as well as lungs (pulmonary). The primary function of the cardiovascular system is the pumping of blood to circulate throughout the body organs, tissues and vessels. The blood is pumped by the heart to the lungs where it is oxygenated before it is circulated to the rest of the body through the systemic system of vessels of arteries. It is observed that the pulmonary circulatory system sends the de-oxygenated blood from the heart via the pulmonary artery which ends up in the lungs again for oxygenation. The oxygenated blood from the lungs enters the heart through the pulmonary vein before it is pumped to the rest of the heart (Zimmermann, 2012).
In summary, the functions of the cardiovascular system are the transportation of nutrients, hormones and oxygen to various cells of the body as well as the elimination of metabolic wastes. It also provides body protection against the invasion of toxins and microbes through the use of white blood cells and antibodies. There is also the presence of clotting mechanism that helps to prevent loss of blood from the body. Additionally, the cardiovascular system helps in regulating the body fluid pH, temperature and the water contents (Zimmermann, 2012).
The lymphatic system also helps in collecting and transporting tissue fluids in the body system as well as getting back plasma proteins to the blood stream. In the lymph nodes, lymphocytes are manufactured as well as the antibodies which are essential in providing defense mechanism to the body. Lastly, the manufactured hormones and enzymes are transported to the blood stream from their manufactured sites by the lymphatic system (Zimmermann, 2012).
- Review of the Functioning of the Respiratory System During Inhaling and Exhaling
The main purpose of the respiratory system is gas exchange between the organism’s circulatory system and the external environment. Respiratory system helps in removal of gaseous metabolic wastes from the body including carbon dioxide and also assists in the oxygenation of the blood. During inhalation, the exchange of gases occurs at the alveoli. The alveolar walls are composed of epithelial cells that provide a large surface area to volume ratio due to their extreme thinness and their location which is close to the pulmonary capillaries. The closeness of these cells permits permeability to gases from one side to the other hence gas exchange. It should be noted that these whole process of gas exchange is carried out by a fact of pressure difference. Thus, if the pressure inside the lungs is high, air flows out of the lungs. If the pressure inside the lungs is low, air moves into the lungs. The respiratory system ensures that the used and toxic gas is removed from the body and a fresh and oxygenated air is taken in (Marieb, Hoehn & Steele, 2011).
- Review of the Function of the Nervous System
Nervous system is the main control centre found in the body. It is regarded as the centre of all brain activities. The nervous system controls the regulatory and communicating system. Studies reveal that the nervous system, team up with endocrine system to regulate the body’s homeostasis. The nervous system is said to control both the voluntary and involuntary activities. This is done by sending signals, for example, from the hand to the brain and back. The transfer of this signals usually take the form of electrochemical waves. Nervous system consists of neurons and glial cells. The nervous system is made up of two parts. The first part is called the central nervous system which consists of the brain and the spinal cord. The second part is the peripheral nervous system which is mainly made up of the nerves which that join the CNS to the entire body. Peripheral nervous system has several systems like sympathetic and autonomic (Lippincott, 2002).
The central nervous system is considered as the main control tower where all the information from the PNS is gathered and processed. The CNS is made up of two main parts namely the brain and the spinal cord. These two parts are responsible for coordinating major body functions, for example, movement, sensory, speech and memory. The spinal cord has neurons which assist in the transmission of signals and messages from the brain to other parts of the body; the spinal cords act as a channel (Lippincott, 2002). The peripheral nervous system, on the other hand, joins the CNS to the limbs and other body organs. The sensory neurons which are mainly part of the PNS are referred to as afferent. This is because they relay information only to the brain. On the contrary, there is the motor neuron which is referred to as efferent since they transport information from the brain to the target organ. However, in some instances the sensory neuron by passes the brain and transmits the information straight to the motor neuron which in turn relays it to the target organ, thus a reflex arc; it is an involuntary action, for example, the blinking of the eye (Lippincott, 2002).
Relay Nerve Effector Motor Nerve Analysis of the Interrelations of the Skeletal, Muscular, Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Nervous System The nervous, skeletal, muscular, cardiovascular and respiratory systems usually work together to ensure that the body is properly functioning. The skeletal system gives the body its structure. Also, it is a catalyst of movement and protects and fastens the muscles and other body organs. The system consists of the muscles, bones and ligaments etc. They join with the muscular system to form the musculoskeletal system. These two systems are supplied by the circulatory system. The supply of the various hormones and nutrients to the musculoskeleton is facilitated by the cardiovascular system which is made up of the heart, blood vessels etc. The heart has cardiac muscles which pump the blood with the nutrients to the skeletal and muscular systems. Together with the circulatory system, the cardiovascular systems supplies the essentials needed by other body systems like the muscular and respiratory system (Marieb, Hoehn & Steele, 2011).
The central nervous system, on the other hand, which consists of the CNS and PNS serves as the center of receiving and processing information. After processing, it sends the information, via the PNS, to the target organs. Therefore, when nutrients are needed in the muscular system a signal is sent through the nerves to the brain where it is processed. A message is sent from the brain to the heart requesting it to pump blood to the muscles. Therefore, the nervous system receives a signal from muscular system processes it and send the information to the cardiovascular system which in turn performs what has been requested .The respiratory system, which consists of the lungs and other parts, is responsible moving oxygen into the blood stream. It ensures that all the systems, for example, muscular and cardiovascular have the needed oxygen to properly function (Marieb, Hoehn & Steele, 2011).
Responses of the Systems to Running and Lifting of Weights
When running, the skeleton and muscular system usually work together to provide movement. The respiratory system increases the level of inhaling and exhalation. The breathing in ensures the body is supplied to the body. The oxygen moves to the circulatory system. The cardiovascular system pumps the blood with oxygen after being triggered and receiving information from the muscular system through the nervous system. Therefore, during running the muscular and skeletal system sends signals that are processed in the nervous system (Marieb, Hoehn & Steele, 2011).
When lifting the weights the systems almost behave in the same way. However, instead of the muscles in the legs it is the ones in the hand, biceps that initiate a signal to the brain via the nervous system. The brain processes the information and sends a signal to the cardiovascular system and respiratory system to signal that there are some essentials needed by the skeletal and muscular system (Marieb, Hoehn & Steele, 2011).
References:
Lippincott, L.W. (2002). Anatomy and Physiology. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Marieb, E.N., Hoehn, K. & Steele, L. (2011). Anatomy and Physiology. Boston ; London : Benjamin Cummings
Saladin, K.S. (2010). Anatomy & Physiology: The Unity of Form and Function. McGraw-Hill
Zimmermann,K. A. (2012). Circulatory System: Facts, Function & Diseases. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/22486-circulatory-system.html
