The Integumentary system

                                                  The Integumentary system
    
       The overall importance of the integumentary system is to protect from bacteria, infections, sun, and diseases, maintain homeostasis, and to remove wastes. The largest organ of the integumentary system is the skin. The features of the skin can allow to perform functions is that it can activate the nervous system by touching or feeling things. The skin has multiple layers for protection for your inner organs and to protect the skeleton. The human integumentary system has three layers of skin:

•  1st layer of the skin is the Epidermis (outer layer)
• 2nd layer of the skin is the Dermis ( middle layer or "true layer")
• 3rd layer of the skin is the subcutaneous tissue (fat)

        There are advantages for these three layers of skin: they all provide protection, they keep waste away, and  helps maintain homeostasis by keeping the body at its normal body temperature. There are also disadvantages for the layers and the skin itself: it can get damaged from fires, burns, or even cuts.

         There are two types of body coverings that many organisms have to survive:

• Endothermic: body heat for metabolism. Warm bodied organisms ( rat, human)

Advantages for an endothermic: greater stamina and it helps maintain homeostasis. It can help warm bodied organisms to outrun cold-blooded. If there is a higher metabolism, then it means there is more energy for the organism. Homeostasis can help organisms to reach their normal body temperature in extreme climates. 
Disadvantages for an endothermic: more food for metabolism. Many organisms have to either eat more or less in order to absorb or let go heat. It is a disadvantage being a endothermic because it's harder to absorb heat fast enough.

• Ectothermic: regulate body temperature using the environment. Cold-blooded organisms (crayfish, worm, frog)

Advantages for being a ectothermic: Organisms use the sun to heat up and it can have a low metabolic requirements when it is inactive. Organisms don't need to have a normal body temperature and can starve for long periods of time. They can use the sun's energy as heat.
Disadvantages for being a ectothermic: organisms don't react well to cold climates or surroundings. It can make organisms to slow down or sometimes cause them to hibernate.

        The earthworm's skin has many mucus glands, which makes the skin really slimy and it's easier for the worm to breathe because it absorbs oxygen into the skin and allows the skin to let in specific things in the body. Gas exchange happens through the skin by small blood vessels. The worm has small bristles called setae that are attached on the skin for movement. Waste is removed at the bottom of the organism.  The worm doesn't have any respiratory organs and their mouth is connected to their digestive system.  The worm doesn't have eyes but they have sensors in their head that sense out for danger. The
 worm has advantages for their integumentary system like it's easier for them to move around and to feel and sense many things that are in their way. Some disadvantages are that it's harder for the worm to protect itself since they don't have eyes nor arms or legs to see the danger that might hurt them and they can't protect themselves because they are not big enough to fight back.


          The crayfish has an exoskeleton and it is segmented just like the worm. It processes melanin, which gives the organism color. The outside of the crayfish is for protection and it isn't permeable on the outside. On each leg of the crayfish, it has a gill connected to it. The movement of the legs helps circulate water over these gills and allows the crayfish to breathe by getting oxygen. A advantage of the crayfish is that it can fight with its claws and can also camouflage itself, depending on the danger and the color it is. A disadvantage of the crayfish is that it can be harder for the crayfish to breathe if it loses its legs or if the oxygen in the water is too low or polluted.

         The integumentary system of a frog has many functions. The integumentary system is the skin of a frog, and it helps to protect the frog by camouflage. The frog has a lot of melanin for camouflage. The skin of the frog is very permeable to gases and water (diffusion). It helps the skin to stay moist when the frog is on land and helps the frog to breathe while underwater. The frog has long legs that are used for swimming and jumping. The frog has a long tongue that is used to catch food like flies, beetles, and other insects. The frog has a strong jaw that is used to close down so the insects won't get out. They don't have teeth so they just swallow their food whole. A advantage of the frog is that it can get away from predators faster by using the muscles on their legs to jump long distances and it is easier for the frog to hide in the water using its camouflage. A disadvantage of the frog is that just like the worm, it needs to keep their skin moist in order to breathe.


          The integumentary system of a rat also has many functions but is different compared to the other organisms that were mentioned. The rat has fur and has a endoskeleton. It has a nose and eyes to smell and to see unlike the worm. It has fingernails and also has four feet for movement. It has whiskers to help sense  A advantage of the rat is that it can use its nails for protection and to cut many things. A advantage of its fur is that it can maintain homeostasis by keeping it warm in cold temperatures. The rat is endothermic and a disadvantage is that it has to get food in order to get energy and to have metabolism. A disadvantage for the rat is that it can die if they go out and find food also they aren't smart enough to get past mouse traps.

     The integumentary system is very similar and different to the digestive, muscular, skeletal, respiratory, and circulatory system because they all do different functions and use different organs to keep the body running and alive. The integumentary system is similar to the skeletal system because they both keep the body protected and they both repair damaged by the help of cells. A advantage of the integumentary system is that it keeps the body protected from things that are not supposed to be part of the body like bacteria and other wastes. A disadvantages of the integumentary system is that the skin can get damaged and it can be easier for a cut to get infected by bacteria because there isn't skin to prevent the bacteria from going in.

The respiratory system

                                                          The Respiratory System
              

        The overall importance of the respiratory system is to supply blood with oxygen in order for the blood to deliver oxygen to all parts of the body, perform gas exchange and cellular respiration, and inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, also requires a functional connection between the respiratory and circulatory system. There are 3 types of organs that organisms in their respiratory system:

• Gills - used by fish and other organisms that live underwater. Designed to work underwater and it's not used for air. Allows underwater organisms take in oxygen from the surrounding water and eliminate carbon dioxide from the blood.  
• Skin- skin respiration or "aquatic respiration" takes place through the moist skin in most amphibians. Happens by diffusion.
• Lungs- used by mostly land organisms like mammals. Helps organisms breathe and performs gas exchange . Helps let out waste and gases like carbon dioxide and inhale oxygen

         The worm is very different compared to humans. It doesn't have lungs and it breathes through its skin. It go through a process called diffusion, where oxygen and carbon dioxide passes thorough the skin. Its skin need to be very moist in order to perform diffusion because they need to absorb carbon and let out carbon dioxide. Earthworms are very different from organisms with gills and lungs because other organisms breathe in to get oxygen into their body for their cells and blood also organs to work properly. The Earthworm is very similar to the frog because it also breathes through its skin. The earthworm has a external respiratory system. A advantage of this is that it is easier for the oxygen to diffuse into the worm's skin. A disadvantage of performing gas exchange is that it will be harder for the system to perform gas exchange if the skin became to dry and it can also cause the worm to die if the skin isn't moist enough.

         
         The crayfish uses gills to breathe and it is very different compared to humans and organisms that live underwater. Its gill plates are mostly full of blood capillaries for gas exchange. The crayfish's gills are found  between the crayfish body wall and carapace. Crayfish have gills that look feathery because it helps with gas exchange It walks in order to breathe because it keeps the gills moving and oxygenated water going under the carapace. This is very different from other organisms because some don't need to walk in order to breathe and many don't live underwater in order to perform this. A advantage of having gills is
when the crayfish moves its legs in the water, they get more oxygen. A disadvantage is low amount of oxygen in water, which can be hard for the crayfish to breathe if it isn't walking or if the water is polluted.

 

         The frog is very similar to the worm but different to organisms with lungs or gills. The frog has blood capillaries and its skin has glands called cutaneous glands underneath skin. The frog breathes by doing diffusion. The skin also need to be moist just like the worm's skin.  The frog's lungs do work but it is not well developed and is placed anterior of the body. It has alveoli that has blood capillaries. According to Ehow.com, the frog's lungs take in 65% oxygen. A advantage of this is that it's easier for the frog to absorb oxygen. But like the worm, a disadvantage for the frog is that it can die if the skin isn't moist enough.


           The white rat is the same as the human's respiratory system but different from the organisms with skin and gills respiratory system. Oxygen is used for the blood. Lungs are the respiratory organs. The  way for air is by external nostrils, pharynx, larynx, trachea and bronchi. Lungs has alveoli where external respiration takes place. Alveoli is in charge of performing gas exchange. The more alveoli, the bigger the surface area, is the more oxygen it will have. The rat is similar to the human's because they both share the same number of organs and same number of functions that their respiratory system both do.


        

 

The Circulatory System

                                                      The Circulatory system

 
            The overall importance of the circulatory system is that it transports gases like Oxygen from the lungs to cells around the body and carbon dioxide from the cells to the lungs, it transports the waste from the cells to organs, helps cells fight off infections and foreign molecules or cells, maintains pH levels and ionic concentrations of fluids, and helps maintain body temperature. The Circulatory system carries food and oxygen to all the cells of the body and removes waste. There are 4 types of blood that are part of the circulatory system:

1. Red blood cells- Oxygen and carbon dioxide transport (hemoglobin)
2. White blood cells - fight off foreign molecules/ cells
3. Plasma- a fluid, carries water and nutrients
4. Platelets- blood clots (helps prevents from bleeding too much)

               
              The earthworm has a closed circulatory system just like the frog and the rat. It has 5 hearts and blood is confined to the heart and blood vessels. Worms also have one major blood vessels. The small blood vessels help the gut, nerve cord, and body wall. Blood glands are on the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th segments. They produce blood cells and hemoglobin which dissolves in the blood plasma. The blood of the earthworm moves through a series of closed tubes, or vessels. It goes forward to the anterior end in a dorsal blood vessel and continues to the posterior end in a ventral blood vessel.


           The crayfish has a open circulatory system and it is very different compared to the other organisms. The function is to get blood, then travels through the gills, then returns to the pericardial sinus that is near the heart.  Blood is pumped by the heart that goes to the body cavities, where the tissues surround by blood. The crayfish doesn't have veins or arteries. "Open" means that the organs is surrounded by blood that freely circulates around the body. Sometimes the heart can move the blood by creating pressure waves in the fluid. The vessels carry blood to different regions of the body.


           The frog is very different compared to the crayfish, worm, rat, and human. The frog has a heart, blood vessels and blood. The frog's heart is three chambered unlike the human an rat, which has four chambered. Oxygenated and deoxygenated blood gets mixed in only one ventricle. Blood vessels are  shown by the arteries, veins and capillaries. Arteries carry blood away from the heart to different parts of the frog's body. This is called a arterial system. Veins carry blood from the different parts of the body to the heart. This is called a "venous system". It is three chambered because the pacemaker in the heart is the sinus venous which is a thin sac that gets blood from the caval veins and empties blood in the right atrium.

 

           The rat is very similar compared to the human's circulatory system.
The rat's circulatory system is well developed. It has a heart, blood vessels and blood.  The heart is four chambered and has separation for deoxygenated and oxygenated blood. The top two chambers is the right and left atrium and the bottom two chambers are the right and left ventricle. Its blood that is part of the circulatory system is the plasma and blood cells. The blood goes to the body by arteries and veins. Oxygenated blood goes from the heart to the rest of the body by the arteries. Deoxygenated blood from the different parts of the body to the heart by the veins. Deoxygenated and oxygenated need to be separated because they both do different functions of the body like deoxygenated is in charge of carbon dioxide and oxygenated is in charge of oxygen and if they were mixed, it can affect a organism's energy  to survive.


            The circulatory system relates to the digestive and respiration system because
  the digestive system takes in and uses food and gets broken down. When a part of food   gets broken down, it gets turn into glucose and is used for respiration. Respiration makes energy, carbon dioxide, and water. Energy is used by the body. The heart uses energy to pump blood around the body. This connects to the digestive and circulatory systems. The respiratory system uses oxygen in the blood to transport the food's nutrients to the body for the body's use. Both systems are similar because most of the body's systems are connected to the heart and it is needed in the circulatory system, while it watches  on the respiratory and other systems. They are both different systems. The Respiratory system is the system that controls the exchanges of gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide and the Circulatory system controls by circulating blood throughout your body.  The heart and lungs are important. The blood in your body needs oxygen to produce energy in your body and the only way to get oxygen is by the respiratory system.
  

The Muscular system

                                                           The Muscular system
           The muscular system is what helps us be more strong and helps organisms with movement and helps them survive by being strong and allowing them be flexible. The importance of the muscular system is that it controls our movement in the body, stability and posture, heat production, circulation, help in digestion, shaping the body, and maintaining posture. Without the muscular system, organisms wouldn't be able to protect themselves or have strength to run or jump or be able to hold things (we would be weak). The muscular system is very important because it makes us move and also breathe and live too. Organisms uses their muscles for movement and need oxygen for their muscles in order to move and have strong muscles.


    The earthworm has a muscular system that helps it move and makes it flexible. It has two kinds of muscles: longitudinal, and circular.  These muscles help the worm move and all it does is pressing all of the muscles forward. The worm  uses bristles otherwise known as satae to move.The worm has fewer muscles compared to the other organisms . Humans have muscles in the arms and legs but the worms don't. Its advantage of muscles is when the circular muscles move,  the worm's body becomes thinner. Humans cannot do this. This is easier fro the worm to allow it to become smaller and to fit into smaller things and also to hide itself. The worm's disadvantage is to move faster from predators and to carry and push stuff around in the ground to move out of the worm's way.

 The crayfish has strong abdominal muscles that helps it swim backward fast. The crayfish has other muscles in its body like the pinchers, legs, mandibles, and stomach. A advantage of the muscles of a crayfish is that it can move quickly to get away from a predator and to fight back using its claws. A disadvantage of the crayfish's muscular system is that it can get destroyed or broken and  the tail and claws sometimes isn't strong enough to fight back most of time.




      

Movement of frog jumping.

         A example of an organism that has a strong muscular system is the grass frog. Frogs don't have powerful arms, but they have strong legs that can help them leap to long distances. They also have a strong jaw that allows them to catch food with their tongue and clump their jaw down really hard. Frogs have muscles attached to their skeleton. They use their hind legs to push itself with some support from their front arms. Frogs have a strong, muscular stomach for when they land on their stomach. Their main movement is leaping, known as locomotion. A advantage of the frog is that it can move around fast and go to long distances and to also avoid predators. A disadvantage is getting energy from meals in order to jump and to move away from predators.


         Rats have a similar muscular system compared to the human's muscular system. The rat's muscles work in groups, which mean that their muscles work together whenever the rat moves around. When the rat moves, they expand their bones. The rat is very flexible and a advantage for this is that it is easier for the rat to go into smaller areas or spaces. The rat has four feet for fast movement. A advantage of this is that it can run awy faster from predators. Its muscular system is almost the same structure as the  human's. Some disadvantages is very similar to us like broken bones and ripped muscles.
 

           





       Humans have a very interesting muscular system, which is made up of more of 600 muscles and is counted of 40% of the body weight. Muscles are made of fibers and cells. Muscles helps you move about everything like running, walking, lifting weights and heavy stuff, and help the body by pumping blood. Muscles are both involuntary or voluntary. Involuntary muscles are muscles that helps function the body automatically, the ones that you don't have control of. Voluntary muscles are muscles that you can control. There are three kinds of muscles in the human muscular system: the skeletal muscle; the cardiac muscle; and the smooth muscle.

•     Skeletal muscles: striated and voluntary control.(Ex. biceps(arm), pectorals major(chest))

• Smooth muscles: are not striated and are not in voluntary control. ( Ex. organs and blood vessels). Smooth muscles has one nucleus.

•   Cardiac muscle: the heart, The muscle is striated also has one nucleus.      

     The muscular system is very important because it has advantages to having one like it allows organisms to have strength and to move around. A disadvantage is that it can sometimes lead to broken parts of muscles or even bone because the muscles are attached to the skeleton by tendons. The muscular system and the skeletal system are similar and different because they both help our body with movement but they both have different parts for controlling our movement like our bones provide protection for our organs and our muscles helps us with the body shape and helps control stability and posture. 

The skeletal system

                                                              The skeletal system

          The skeletal system is very important to living organisms and it helps our bodies with support and protection for organs, movement, blood cell production, and mineral storage. Without the skeletal system, we would probably move like noodles and our bodies wouldn't have enough protection or support. There are 3 types of skeletons:

• Hydrostatic: occurs in soft-bodied animals (Ex. Earthworms)
• Exoskeleton: hard, non-living structure that protects entire body (Ex. crayfish)
• Endoskeleton: cartilaginous and bony skeleton of body (Ex. humans, rats) Endoskeletons is the inside support structure of an organism that helps protect the internal organs and allows the body for easier movement and doesn't need to be replaced or removed as the organism grows.

     The earthworm doesn't have a skeleton, otherwise known as a hydrostatic skeleton. The worm has bristles on each segment that helps the worm move. Worms have no limbs and they have two muscles. One of the muscles makes the worm long and thin. The other muscle makes the worm fat. Earthworms are a great example of hydrostatic because their advantages of having a hydrostatic is that they have no bones and they have more movement, which helps them have easier access to get into small areas and it's easier for them to move around more and be more flexible. The earthworm's disadvantages is that they have no support and no protection and they have no stability, which causes them to get killed easier and won't be able to fight back predators or hold and pick up objects. Having a hydrostatic skeleton is very different to having a exoskeleton like the crayfish does and also endoskeleton like what humans, rats, and frogs have because it doesn't provide much protection.


Crayfishes are invertebrates meaning that they don't have a backbone. Their bodies are segmented  like the worm for flexibility and movement and they have a exoskeleton. The advantages of having a exoskeleton is very good because it provides protection from predators and the environment (Ex. windstorms, rain, snow, etc.), provides camouflage (Ex. a turtle can be inside its shell and stay still to make itself look like a rock), and also has space for muscle attachment. Their advantages helps them survive better because their exoskeleton protects them from hurting their internal organs and to avoid being hurt or eaten from their predators and environment, helps them hide from being hunted from other animals, and have no damage to their bodies. The disadvantages for the crayfish are body weight, limited growth for the organism, and less movement. Their disadvantages doesn't help them survive because  their body structure that can lower their rate of movement and they have limited growth because their body structure isn't big enough to allow them to get bigger also they have less movement because it's harder for them to move inside and it's difficult for them to regulate their body temperature.


         The grass frog has the same type of skeleton like the rat and humans, which is a endoskeleton. The frog has a backbone that has five to nine vertebrate and have a short, stiff neck that has limited mobility. The frog's jaw is made to grab things instead of chewing them and has a large tongue extension. They have no ribcage to provide protection for their inner organs for the frog. The frog has long legs for jumping and swimming. The frog is quite similar and a bit different compared to the human's skeletal system  because frogs have the same bone structure as humans like the phalanges, metacarpals and carpals that make up the hands and wrists. Frogs are different because they have no ribcage to protect their inner organs like the humans and rats do. another difference is that frogs have a total of 159 bones and humans have 206 bones.

            The advantages of having an endoskeleton is that it has ability to support larger size and weight, bones are inside, bones can heal when broken, and more movement. The endoskeleton has no limited growth or weight, bones are inside so they can protect the internal organs, our bones heal by our cells, and we have movement to move and to pick and hold things and to be stable. The disadvantages of having a endoskeleton is it can cause damage and pollution, our flesh is outside, and whatever caused a broken bone, it also damages the muscle and skin. The reasons for the disadvantages is because it's easier to get bruises and bumps, impossible to grow a new skeleton, causes damage to skin ( Damage from environment and pollution: sun, smoke),  and a broken bone can also cause damage to muscle and skin (which explains the bruises and bumps).

 
          Rats and humans are very similar but also different in a few ways. Rats have 233 bones unlike humans have 206 but their bodies are both divided into axial and appendicular skeletons. Humans and rats both have endoskeleton and have the same axial structure of bones like the skull, sternum, and ribs. The rat's ribcage covers a huge amount of the animal and its feet has only 4 fingers which means it has a few bones less than the human and their skeleton is much weaker compared to humans.