Protective Systems of the Body

The human body is protected by several organ systems. One of them is the integumentary system.

Integumentary System

The integumentary system forms the body's outer protection. It includes the skin, hair and nails.

Skin

The skin performs many function for the body. It prevents the entry of harmful organisms and cushions the body from physical injury. It keeps water and salts from seeping out of the body. The skin is also a sense organ, hence, it has receptors for heat, cold, touch, pressure, and pain. It helps control body temperature and get rids of certain wastes through sweat.

Cell Structure and Function

Hey Guys you know that if you look at any of the organisms in your surroundings, you can easily identify their parts. Flowers and leaves are parts of a plant. Eyes and wings are parts of a bird, a dragonfly, a grasshopper, and a bee. Every boy and girl, has a nose, a pair of eyes, and cheeks.

Each of these parts are actually made up of still tinier parts called cells. You know that most of the cells are so small that they can only be seen with the use of a microscope.

Compound Microscope

In biology, microscopes are used to study organisms and their vital processes. Microscopes range from the very simple optical microscope to the very advanced electron microscope.

The microscope use today are quite different from Leeuwenhoek's single-lens magnifier. The most common type found in biology classroom is the light compound microscope. The light microscope is also called compound microscope because it uses two lenses to magnify objects. Compound microscopes have low depth perception but have high resolution and magnification.

Discovery of the Cell

A scientist named Robert Hooke was thee first person to use the term cells to refer to the tiny structures found in organisms. Around 1665, Hooke observed a piece of cork with the use of a microscope which he himself made. There he observed boxlike compartments in the cork. Hooke thought they looked like the small rooms or cells of old monasteries. He called these room-like structures in cork, cells. What Hooke really saw were the outer boundaries of the cells. They looked like empty boxes because the cells were dead.

Many other Scientists studied cells. In 1831 Robert Brown reported seeing small bodies in the cells he studied and called them nuclei (singular from nucleus) Years late in 1839, Johannes Purkinjie observed the complex fluid inside the cells and named it protoplasm.

Health and Medicine

Did You know that Biotechnology has also aided medical research in finding new and more effective cures for serious diseases and developing diagnostic tools to detect diseases in their early stages.

Researches on the use of Philippine plants with medical value are being done to promote self-reliance among the rural folks and to help reduce the adverse effect of the rising costs of medicine. The Studies deal with the preparation of drugs from the crude plant materials and from semi-pure and pure plant constituents.

There are the example, the technology for the production of lagundi, tsaang gubat, sambong, and yerba buena tablets has been transferred to a private pharmaceutical company for commercial scale production. Lagundi is a remedy for fever; tsaang gubat is antidiarrheal; sambong for cough; and yerba buena is a pain reliver. Another firm produces, under a certain brand name, 250 mg capsules containing malunggay which increases milk secretions of lactating mothers.

Cellular Basis OF Life

All living organisms are made up of cells. Some organisms consist of only one cell, others, more. Our body, for example, has billions of cells while elephants and whales have trillions of cells in their bodies.

Cells vary in size, shape, and function but their are parts and characteristics common to all of them. Furthermore, certain cells produce secretions which are used to promote health and improve food production. You will know more about them and the people who first gave us information about the cell.

Protecting Useful Organisms

Did You have seen how plants and animals depend on each other and how people, in turn, depend on the environment for their survival? You know that the interdependence of all living things (and even inanimate objects) requires that people do their share in conserving resources, maintaining equilibrium in nature, and contributing to a cleaner, safer and more productive world for the future generations. That's all!!

Liver

The liver has the multiple functions, but its main function within the digestive system is to process the nutrients absorbed from the small intestine. Bile from the liver secreted into small intestine also pays an important role in digesting fat. In addition, the liver is the body's chemical "factory". It takes the raw materials absorbed by the intestine and makes all various chemicals the body needs the function. The liver is also detoxifies potentially harmful chemicals. It breaks down and secrets many drugs.

Rectum

The rectum (Latin for "straight") is an 8-inch chamber that connects the colon to the anus. It is the rectum's job to receive stool from the colon, to let the person know that there is stool to be evacuated, and to hold the stool until evacuation happens. When anything (gas or stool) comes into the rectum, sensors send a message to brain. The brain then decides if the rectal contents can be released or not. If they can, the sphincters relax and the rectum contracts, disposing its contents. If the contents cannot be disposed, the sphincter contracts and the rectum accommodates so that the sensation temporarily goes away.

Centrosomes

The centrosomes are structures in the cell. They surround a pair of centrioles. These structures duplicate during inter phase and in pro phase. They move apart. You can observe the radiating micro tubules from them that form the mitotic spindle. They control the arrangement of micro tubules during cell division.