An example of a system: The nervous system. This basic diagram shows that this system is made up of 4 different basic organs: the brain, the cerebellum, the spinal cord, and the nerves.

In biology, a biological system (or organ system or body system) is a group of organs that work together to perform a certain task. Common systems, such as those present in mammals and other animals, seen in human anatomy, are those such as the circulatory system, the respiratory system, the nervous system, etc.

A group of systems composes an organism, e.g. the human body.

Systems[link]

These specific systems are widely studied in Human anatomy. "Human" systems are also present in many other animals.

• Circulatory system: pumping and channeling blood to and from the body and lungs with heart, blood and blood vessels.
• Digestive system: digestion and processing food with salivary glands, esophagus, stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, intestines, rectum and anus.
• Endocannabinoid system: neuromodulatory lipids and receptors involved in a variety of physiological processes including appetite, pain-sensation, mood, motor learning, synaptic plasticity, and memory.
• Endocrine system: communication within the body using hormones made by endocrine glands such as the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, pineal body or pineal gland, thyroid, parathyroids and adrenals, i.e., adrenal glands.
• Excretory System: gets rid of waste in the body; contains the integumentary system, the digestive system, the respiratory system, and the urinary system.
• Immune system: defending against disease-causing agents with leukocytes, tonsils, adenoids, thymus and spleen.
• Integumentary system: skin, hair, fat, and nails.
• Lymphatic system: structures involved in the transfer of lymph between tissues and the blood stream; includes the lymph and the nodes and vessels.
• Muscular system: allows for manipulation of the environment, provides locomotion, maintains posture, and produces heat. Includes only skeletal muscle, not smooth muscle or cardiac muscle.
• Nervous system: collecting, transferring and processing information with brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system.
• Reproductive system: the sex organs, such as ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina, mammary glands, testes, vas deferens, seminal vesicles and prostate
• Respiratory system: the organs used for breathing, the pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, lungs and diaphragm.
• Skeletal system: structural support and protection with bones, cartilage, ligaments and tendons.
• Urinary system: kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra involved in fluid balance, electrolyte balance and excretion of urine.

See also[link]

Systems science portal

• Artificial life
• Biological systems engineering
• Systems biology
• Systems ecology
• Systems theory

External links[link]

• Systems Biology: An Overview by Mario Jardon: A review from the Science Creative Quarterly, 2005.
• Synthesis and Analysis of a Biological System, by Hiroyuki Kurata, 1999.
• Semantic Systems Biology

This biology article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This systems-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e