Why It Matters: Overview of Body Systems

Why describe different body systems?

An understanding of the body can benefit your own health as you go through life. Familiarity with the human body can help you make healthful choices and prompt you to take appropriate action when signs of illness arise. Your knowledge in this field will help you understand news about nutrition, medications, medical devices, and procedures and help you understand genetic or infectious diseases. At some point, everyone will have a problem with some aspect of his or her body and your knowledge can help you to be a better parent, spouse, partner, friend, colleague, or caregiver.

This module will provide you with an introduction to the different body systems that enable human life:

A diagram of the human body showing the primary organs and structures, including the brain, stomach, skeleton, lungs, and heart.

Learning Outcomes

  • Discuss how different body systems interact with one another
  • Describe the nervous, endocrine, reproductive, and sensory systems
  • Describe the circulatory, immune, respiratory, and digestive systems
  • Describe the muscular, skeletal, and integumentary systems