Human body
The human body is the entire structure of a human being. It is composed of many different types of cells that together create tissues and subsequently organs and then organ systems.
The external human body consists of a head, hair, neck, torso, genitals, arms, hands, legs, and feet. The internal human body includes organs, teeth, bones, muscle, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels and blood, lymphatic vessels and lymph.
The study of the human body includes anatomy, physiology, histology and embryology. The body varies anatomically in known ways. Physiology focuses on the systems and organs of the human body and their functions. Many systems and mechanisms interact in order to maintain homeostasis, with safe levels of substances such as sugar, iron, and oxygen in the blood.
The body is studied by health professionals, physiologists, anatomists, and artists to assist them in their work.
Composition
| Element | Symbol | Percent mass | Percent atoms | |
| Oxygen | O | 65.0 | 24.0 | |
| Carbon | C | 18.5 | 12.0 | |
| Hydrogen | H | 9.5 | 62.0 | |
| Nitrogen | N | 3.2 | 1.1 | |
| Calcium | Ca | 1.5 | 0.22 | |
| Phosphorus | P | 1.0 | 0.22 | |
| Potassium | K | 0.4 | 0.03 | |
| Sulfur | S | 0.3 | 0.038 | |
| Sodium | Na | 0.2 | 0.037 | |
| Chlorine | Cl | 0.2 | 0.024 | |
| Magnesium | Mg | 0.1 | 0.015 | |
| Trace elements | < 0.1 | < 0.3 |
The human body is composed of elements including hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, calcium and phosphorus. These elements reside in trillions of cells and non-cellular components of the body.
The adult male body is about 60% total body water content of some. This is made up of about of extracellular fluid including about of blood plasma and about of interstitial fluid, and about of fluid inside cells. The content, acidity and composition of the water inside and outside cells is carefully maintained. The main electrolytes in body water outside cells are sodium and chloride, whereas within cells it is potassium and other phosphates.
Cells
The body contains trillions of cells, the fundamental unit of life. At maturity, there are roughly 30 trillion cells, and 38 trillion bacteria in the body, an estimate arrived at by totaling the cell numbers of all the organs of the body and cell types. The skin of the body is also host to billions of commensal organisms as well as immune cells. Not all parts of the body are made from cells. Cells sit in an extracellular matrix that consists of proteins such as collagen, surrounded by extracellular fluids.Each of the cells of the human body experiences, on average, tens of thousands of DNA damages per day. These damages can block genome replication or genome transcription, and if they are not repaired or are repaired incorrectly, they may lead to mutations, or other genome alterations that threaten cell viability.
Genome
Cells in the body function because of DNA. DNA sits within the nucleus of a cell. Here, parts of DNA are copied and sent to the body of the cell via RNA. The RNA is then used to create proteins, which form the basis for cells, their activity, and their products. Proteins dictate cell function and gene expression, a cell is able to self-regulate by the amount of proteins produced. However, not all cells have DNA; some cells such as mature red blood cells lose their nucleus as they mature.Tissues
The body consists of many different types of tissue, defined as cells that act with a specialised function. The study of tissues is called histology and is often done with a microscope. The body consists of four main types of tissues. These are lining cells, connective tissue, nerve tissue and muscle tissue.Cells
Cells that line surfaces exposed to the outside world or gastrointestinal tract or internal cavities come in numerous shapes and forms – from single layers of flat cells, to cells with small beating hair-like cilia in the lungs, to column-like cells that line the stomach. Endothelial cells are cells that line internal cavities including blood vessels and glands. Lining cells regulate what can and cannot pass through them, protect internal structures, and function as sensory surfaces.Organs
, structured collections of cells with a specific function, mostly sit within the body, with the exception of skin. Examples include the heart, lungs and liver. Many organs reside within cavities within the body. These cavities include the abdomen and pleura, which contains the lungs.Heart
The heart is an organ located in the thoracic cavity between the lungs and slightly to the left. It is surrounded by the pericardium, which holds it in place in the mediastinum and serves to protect it from blunt trauma, infection and help lubricate the movement of the heart via pericardial fluid. The heart works by pumping blood around the body allowing oxygen, nutrients, waste, hormones and white blood cells to be transported.The heart is composed of two atria and two ventricles. The primary purpose of the atria is to allow uninterrupted venous blood flow to the heart during ventricular systole. This allows enough blood to get into the ventricles during atrial systole. Consequently, the atria allow a cardiac output roughly 75% greater than would be possible without them. The purpose of the ventricles is to pump blood to the lungs through the right ventricle and to the rest of the body through the left ventricle.
The heart has an electrical conduction system to control the contraction and relaxation of the muscles. It starts in the sinoatrial node traveling through the atria causing them to pump blood into the ventricles. It then travels to the atrioventricular node, which makes the signal slow down slightly allowing the ventricles to fill with blood before pumping it out and starting the cycle over again.
Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, making up 16% of all deaths. It is caused by the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries supplying the heart, eventually the arteries may become so narrow that not enough blood is able to reach the myocardium, a condition known as myocardial infarction or heart attack, this can cause heart failure or cardiac arrest and eventually death. Risk factors for coronary artery disease include obesity, smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, lack of exercise and diabetes. Cancer can affect the heart, though it is exceedingly rare and has usually metastasized from another part of the body such as the lungs or breasts. This is because the heart cells quickly stop dividing and all growth occurs through size increase rather than cell division.
Gallbladder
The gallbladder is a hollow pear-shaped organ located posterior to the inferior middle part of the right lobe of the liver. It is variable in shape and size. It stores bile before it is released into the small intestine via the common bile duct to help with digestion of fats. It receives bile from the liver via the cystic duct, which connects to the common hepatic duct to form the common bile duct.The gallbladder gets its blood supply from the cystic artery, which in most people, emerges from the right hepatic artery.
Gallstone is a common disease in which one or more stones form in the gallbladder or biliary tract. Most people are asymptomatic but if a stone blocks the biliary tract, it causes a gallbladder attack; symptoms may include sudden pain in the upper right abdomen or center of the abdomen. Nausea and vomiting may also occur. Typical treatment is removal of the gallbladder through a procedure called a cholecystectomy. Having gallstones is a risk factor for gallbladder cancer, which, although quite uncommon, is rapidly fatal if not diagnosed early.
Systems
Circulatory system
The circulatory system consists of the heart and blood vessels. The heart propels the circulation of the blood, which serves as a "transportation system" to transfer oxygen, fuel, nutrients, waste products, immune cells and signaling molecules from one part of the body to another. Paths of blood circulation within the human body can be divided into two circuits: the pulmonary circuit, which pumps blood to the lungs to receive oxygen and leave carbon dioxide, and the systemic circuit, which carries blood from the heart off to the rest of the body. The blood consists of fluid that carries cells in the circulation, including some that move from tissue to blood vessels and back, as well as the spleen and bone marrow.Digestive system
The digestive system consists of the mouth including the tongue and teeth, esophagus, stomach,, as well as the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, and salivary glands. It converts food into small, nutritional, non-toxic molecules for distribution and absorption into the body. These molecules take the form of proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. After being swallowed, food moves through the gastrointestinal tract by means of peristalsis: the systematic expansion and contraction of muscles to push food from one area to the next.Digestion begins in the mouth, which chews food into smaller pieces for easier digestion. Then it is swallowed, and moves through the esophagus to the stomach. In the stomach, food is mixed with gastric acids to allow the extraction of nutrients. What is left is called chyme; this then moves into the small intestine, which absorbs the nutrients and water from the chyme. What remains passes on to the large intestine, where it is dried to form feces; these are then stored in the rectum until they are expelled through the anus.