SHEPHERDVILLE COLLEGE

Formerly Jesus the Loving Shepherd Christian College

College of Health
Talojongon, Tigaon, Camarines Sur

MODULE 4: Tissues, Organs, and Organ

Systems

MARIA CORAZON B. CONTANTE

Instructor

This module belongs to:

__________________________________________________________________

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 I. Module 4: Tissues, Organs, and Organ Systems
II. Overview
If you were a single-celled organism and you lived in a nutrient-rich
place, staying alive would be pretty straightforward. For instance, if you
were an amoeba living in a pond, you could absorb nutrients straight from
your environment. The oxygen you would need for metabolism could
diffuse in across your cell membrane, and carbon dioxide and other wastes
could diffuse out. When the time came to reproduce, you could just divide
yourself in two!
However, odds are you are not an amoeba—given that you're using
Khan Academy right now—and things aren’t quite so simple for big, many-
celled organisms like human beings. Your complex body has over 30 trillion
cells, and most of those cells aren’t in direct contact with the external
environment.
A cell deep inside your body—in one of your bones, say, or in your
liver—can’t get the nutrients or oxygen it needs directly from the
environment.
How, then, does the body nourish its cells and keep itself running?
Let's take a closer look at how the organization of your amazing body
makes this possible.

III. Learning objectives

Upon completion of this module, you are expected to:
1. Describe the structure, location, and functions of the three types
of fibrous connective tissue.
2. Describe the structure, location, and functions of the four types of
Special connective tissue.
3. Describe the structure, location, and functions of the three types
of muscle tissue.
4. Describe the two components of the nervous tissue.
5. Diagram the four major body cavities and the organs they contain.
6. List the seven functions of the skin.
7. Identify the locations and functions of sweat glands, oil glands, and
hair.
8. Explain how sensory receptors, integrators, and effectors interact
to maintain homeostasis.
9. Compare and contrast changes in the body that occur due to
extreme cold versus heat exhaustion.

IV. Key Points

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 • Humans—and other complex multicellular organisms—have systems
of organs that work together, carrying out processes that keep us
alive.
• The body has levels of organization that build on each other. Cells
make up tissues, tissues make up organs, and organs make up organ
systems.
• The function of an organ system depends on the integrated activity
of its organs. For instance, digestive system organs cooperate to
process food.
• The survival of the organism depends on the integrated activity of all
the organ systems, often coordinated by the endocrine and nervous
systems.

V. Context/Discussion

Multicellular Organisms Need Specialized Systems

Most cells in large multicellular organisms don't directly exchange
substances like nutrients and wastes with the external environment, instead, they
are surrounded by an internal environment of extracellular fluid—literally, fluid
outside of cells. The cells get oxygen and nutrients from this extracellular fluid and
release waste products into it. Humans and other complex organisms have
specialized systems that maintain the internal environment, keeping it steady
and able to provide for the needs of the cells.

Different systems of the body carry out different functions. For example,
your digestive system is responsible for taking in and processing food, while your
respiratory system—working with your circulatory system—is responsible for taking
up oxygen and getting rid of carbon dioxide. The muscular and skeletal systems
are crucial for movement; the reproductive system handles reproduction; and
the excretory system gets rid of metabolic waste.

Because of their specialization, these different systems are dependent on

each other. The cells that make up the digestive, muscular, skeletal,
reproductive, and excretory systems all need oxygen from the respiratory system
to function, and the cells of the respiratory system—as well as all the other
systems—need nutrients and must get rid of metabolic wastes. All the systems of
the body work together to keep an organism up and running.

Overview of Body Organization

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 All living organisms are made up of one or more cells. Unicellular
organisms, like amoebas, consist of only a single cell. Multicellular organisms, like
people, are made up of many cells. Cells are considered the fundamental units
of life.
The cells in complex multicellular organisms like people are organized
into tissues, groups of similar cells that work together on a specific
task. Organs are structures made up of two or more tissues organized to carry out
a particular function, and groups of organs with related functions make up the
different organ systems.

From left to right: single muscle cell, multiple muscle cells together forming muscle
tissue, organ made up of muscle tissue (bladder), and organ system made up of
kidneys, ureter, bladder and urethra.
Image credit: modified from Levels of structural organization of the human
body by OpenStax College, Anatomy & Physiology, CC BY 4.0

At each level of organization—cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems—

structure is closely related to function. For instance, the cells in the small intestine
that absorb nutrients look very different from the muscle cells needed for body
movement. The structure of the heart reflects its job of pumping blood
throughout the body, while the structure of the lungs maximizes the efficiency
with which they can take up oxygen and release carbon dioxide.

Types of Tissues
As we saw above, every organ is made up of two or more tissues, groups
of similar cells that work together to perform a specific task. Humans—and other
large multicellular animals—are made up of four basic tissue types: epithelial
tissue, connective tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue.

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 The four types of tissues are exemplified in nervous tissue, stratified squamous
epithelial tissue, cardiac muscle tissue, and connective tissue in small intestine.
Image credit: modified from Types of tissues: Figure 1 by OpenStax College,
Anatomy & Physiology, CC BY 3.0

Epithelial tissue
Epithelial tissue consists of tightly packed sheets of cells that cover
surfaces—including the outside of the body—and line body cavities. For
instance, the outer layer of your skin is an epithelial tissue, and so is the lining of
your small intestine.
Epithelial cells are polarized, meaning that they have a top and a bottom
side. The apical, top, side of an epithelial cell faces the inside of a cavity or the
outside of a structure and is usually exposed to fluid or air. The basal, bottom,

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side faces the underlying cells. For instance, the apical sides of intestinal cells
have finger-like structures that increase surface area for absorbing nutrients.

Image showing three cells lining the small intestine. Each cell contains a nucleus
and is surrounded by a plasma membrane. The tops of the cells have microvilli
that face the cavity from which substances will be absorbed.
Image credit: Eukaryotic cells: Figure 3 by OpenStax College, Biology, CC BY 3.0

Epithelial cells are tightly packed, and this lets them act as barriers to the
movement of fluids and potentially harmful microbes. Often, the cells are joined
by specialized junctions that hold them tightly together to reduce leaks.

Connective Tissue
Connective tissue consists of cells suspended in an extracellular matrix. In
most cases, the matrix is made up of protein fibers like collagen and fibrin in a
solid, liquid, or jellylike ground substance. Connective tissue supports and, as the
name suggests, connects other tissues.
Loose connective tissue, show below, is the most common type of
connective tissue. It's found throughout your body, and it supports organs and
blood vessels and links epithelial tissues to the muscles underneath. Dense, or
fibrous, connective tissue is found in tendons and ligaments, which connect
muscles to bones and bones to each other, respectively.

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 Loose connective tissue is composed of loosely woven collagen and elastic
fibers. The fibers and other components of the connective tissue matrix are
secreted by fibroblasts.
Image credit: Animal primary tissues: Figure 6 by OpenStax College, Biology, CC
BY 4.0

Specialized forms of connective tissue include adipose tissue—body fat—

bone, cartilage, and blood, in which the extracellular matrix is a liquid called
plasma.

Muscle tissue
Muscle tissue is essential for keeping the body upright, allowing it to move,
and even pumping blood and pushing food through the digestive tract.
Muscle cells, often called muscle fibers, contain the proteins actin and myosin,
which allow them to contract. There are three main types of muscle: skeletal
muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle.

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From left to right. Smooth muscle cells, skeletal muscle cells, and cardiac muscle
cells. Smooth muscle cells do not have striations, while skeletal muscle cells do.

Cardiac muscle cells have striations, but, unlike the multinucleate skeletal
cells, they have only one nucleus. Cardiac muscle tissue also has intercalated
discs, specialized regions running along the plasma membrane that join
adjacent cardiac muscle cells and assist in passing an electrical impulse from cell
to cell.
Image credit: Animal primary tissues: Figure 12 by OpenStax College, Biology, CC
BY 4.0

Skeletal muscle, which is also called striated—striped—muscle, is what we refer

to as muscle in everyday life. Skeletal muscle is attached to bones by tendons,
and it allows you to consciously control your movements. For instance, the quads
in your legs or biceps in your arms are skeletal muscle.

Cardiac muscle is found only in the walls of the heart. Like skeletal muscle,
cardiac muscle is striated, or striped. But it's not under voluntary control, so—
thankfully!—you don’t need to think about making your heart beat. The
individual fibers are connected by structures called intercalated disks, which
allow them to contract in sync.

Smooth muscle is found in the walls of blood vessels, as well as in the walls of the
digestive tract, the uterus, the urinary bladder, and various other internal
structures. Smooth muscle is not striped, striated, and it's involuntary, not under
conscious control. That means you don't have to think about moving food
through your digestive tract!

Nervous tissue
Nervous tissue is involved in sensing stimuli—external or internal cues—and
processing and transmitting information. It consists of two main types of cells:
neurons, or nerve cells, and glia.
The neurons are the basic functional unit of the nervous system. They generate
electrical signals called conducted nerve impulses or action potentials that allow
the neurons to convey information very rapidly across long distances.
The glia mainly act to support neuronal function.

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 Picture of neuron. The neuron has projections called dendrites that receive
signals and projections called axons that send signals. Also shown are two types
of glial cells: astrocytes regulate the chemical environment of the nerve cell, and
oligodendrocytes insulate the axon so the electrical nerve impulse is transferred
more efficiently.
Image credit: Animal primary tissues: Figure 13 by OpenStax College, Biology, CC
BY 4.0

Organs
Organs, such as the heart, the lungs, the stomach, the kidneys, the skin,
and the liver, are made up of two or more types of tissue organized to serve a
particular function. For example, the heart pumps blood, the lungs bring in
oxygen and eliminate carbon dioxide, and the skin provides a barrier to protect
internal structures from the external environment.
Most organs contain all four tissue types. The layered walls of the small
intestine provide a good example of how tissues form an organ. The inside of the
intestine is lined by epithelial cells, some of which secrete hormones or digestive
enzymes and others of which absorb nutrients. Around the epithelial layer are
layers of connective tissue and smooth muscle, interspersed with glands, blood
vessels, and neurons. The smooth muscle contracts to move food through the
gut, under the control of its associated networks of neurons.

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 Cross-section of the GI tract. From outside to inside: Blood vessels, networks of
nerves in smooth muscle layers, connective tissue, more smooth muscle, another
layer of connective tissue, epithelial tissue, and empty space in the middle as the
path of digested food.
Image credit: modified from Layers of the GI tract by Goran tek-en, [CC BY-SA
3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en; the modified
image is licensed under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license

Organ Systems
Organs are grouped into organ systems, in which they work together to
carry out a particular function for the organism.
For example, the heart and the blood vessels make up the cardiovascular
system. They work together to circulate the blood, bringing oxygen and nutrients
to cells throughout the body and carrying away carbon dioxide and metabolic
wastes. Another example is the respiratory system, which brings oxygen into the
body and gets rid of carbon dioxide. It includes the nose, mouth, pharynx, larynx,
trachea, and lungs.

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 Two diagrams. On the left, a diagram of the respiratory system showing nasal
passages, trachea, and lungs. On the right, a diagram of the circulatory system
showing heart and blood vessels.
Image credit: Structural organization of the human body: Figures 2 and 3 by
OpenStax College, Anatomy & Physiology, CC BY 4.0

Major organ systems of the human body

Organ system Function
Transports oxygen, nutrients, and
other substances to the cells and
transports wastes, carbon
dioxide, and other substances
away from the cells; it can also
help stabilize body temperature
Cardiovascular and pH
Defends against infection and
disease and transfers lymph
between tissues and the blood
Lymphatic stream
Processes foods and absorbs
nutrients, minerals, vitamins, and
Digestive water
Provides communication within
the body via hormones and
Endocrine directs long-term change in
Organs, tissues, and
structures involved
Heart, blood, and
blood vessels
Lymph, lymph nodes,
and lymph vessels
Mouth, salivary glands,
esophagus, stomach,
liver, gallbladder,
exocrine pancreas,
small intestine, and
large intestine
Pituitary, pineal, thyroid,
parathyroids, endocrine
pancreas, adrenals,
testes, and ovaries.

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Organ system Function
other organ systems to maintain
homeostasis
Provides protection from injury
and fluid loss and provides
physical defense against
infection by microorganisms;
Integumentary involved in temperature control
Provides movement, support,
Muscular and heat production
Collects, transfers, and processes
information and directs short-
term change in other organ
Nervous systems
Produces gametes—sex cells—
and sex hormones; ultimately
Reproductive produces offspring
Delivers air to sites where gas
Respiratory exchange can occur
Supports and protects soft tissues
of the body; provides movement
at joints; produces blood cells;
Skeletal and stores minerals
Removes excess water, salts,
and waste products from the
Urinary blood and body and controls pH
Defends against microbial
pathogens—disease-causing
Immune agents—and other diseases
This table is modified from Major organ systems of the human body by CK-12
Foundation, CC BY-NC 3.0.
Although we often talk about the different organ systems as though they were
distinct, parts of one system may play a role in another system. The mouth, for
instance, belongs to both the respiratory system and the digestive system.
Organs, tissues, and
structures involved
Skin, hair, and nails
Skeletal, cardiac, and
smooth muscles
Brain, spinal cord,
nerves, and sensory
organs—eyes, ears,
tongue, skin, and nose
Fallopian tubes, uterus,
vagina, ovaries,
mammary glands
(female), testes, vas
deferens, seminal
vesicles, prostate, and
penis (male)
Mouth, nose, pharynx,
larynx, trachea,
bronchi, lungs, and
diaphragm
Bones, cartilage, joints,
tendons, and ligaments
Kidneys, ureters, urinary
bladder, and urethra
Leukocytes, tonsils,
adenoids, thymus, and
spleen
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There's also a lot of functional overlap among the different systems. For instance,
while we tend to think of the cardiovascular system as delivering oxygen and
nutrients to cells, it also plays a role in maintaining temperature. The blood also
transports hormones produced by the glands of the endocrine system, and white
blood cells are a key component of the immune system.

Organs in a System Work Together

Just like workers on an assembly line, the organs of an organ system must
work together for the system to function as a whole. For instance, the function of
the digestive system—taking in food, breaking it down into molecules small
enough to be absorbed, absorbing it, and eliminating undigested waste
products—depends on each successive organ doing its individual job.
Digestion is the breakdown of food so that its nutrients can be absorbed. It
includes both mechanical digestion and chemical digestion. In mechanical
digestion, chunks of food are broken into smaller pieces. In chemical digestion,
large molecules like proteins and starches are broken into simpler units that can
be readily absorbed.
Mechanical digestion, along with some initial chemical digestion, takes
place in the mouth and stomach. Chewing breaks food into smaller pieces, and
the stomach churns the food up into a fluid mixture. The stomach also acts as a
storage tank, releasing partially digested food into the small intestine at a rate
the small intestine can handle.

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 Digestive system. Starts at mouth, which connects to stomach. The liver and
pancreas are adjacent to the stomach, which leads to the small intestine and
then the large intestine.
Image credit: modified from Digestive systems: Figure 5 by OpenStax College,
Biology, CC BY 4.0

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 The small intestine is the major site of chemical digestion, which is carried
out by enzymes released from the pancreas and liver. The small intestine is also
the main site of nutrient absorption; molecules like sugars and amino acids are
taken up by cells and transported into the bloodstream for use.
The mouth, stomach, small intestine, and other digestive system organs work
together to make digesting food and absorbing nutrients efficient. Digestion
wouldn’t so work well if your stomach stopped churning or if one of your enzyme-
producing glands—like the pancreas—decided to take the day off!

Organ Systems Work Together, too.

Just as the organs in an organ system work together to accomplish their
task, so the different organ systems also cooperate to keep the body running.
For example, the respiratory system and the circulatory system work closely
together to deliver oxygen to cells and to get rid of the carbon dioxide the cells
produce. The circulatory system picks up oxygen in the lungs and drops it off in
the tissues, then performs the reverse service for carbon dioxide. The lungs expel
the carbon dioxide and bring in new oxygen-containing air. Only when both
systems are working together can oxygen and carbon dioxide be successfully
exchanged between cells and environment.
There are many other examples of this cooperation in your body. For
instance, the blood in your circulatory system has to receive nutrients from your
digestive system and undergo filtration in your kidneys, or it wouldn't be able to
sustain the cells of your body and remove the wastes they produce.

Control and Coordination

Many body functions are controlled by the nervous system and the
endocrine system. These two regulatory systems use chemical messengers to
affect the function of the other organ systems and to coordinate activity at
different locations in the body.
How do the endocrine and nervous systems differ?
• In the endocrine system, the chemical messengers are hormones released
into the blood.
• In the nervous system, the chemical messengers are neurotransmitters sent
straight from one cell to another across a tiny gap.
Since hormones have to travel through the bloodstream to their targets, the
endocrine system usually coordinates processes on a slower time scale than the
nervous system in which messages are delivered directly to the target cell. In
some cases, such as the fight-or-flight response to an acute threat, the nervous
and endocrine systems work together to produce a response.

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 VI. Summary
Living things exist along with non-living objects on this earth.
However, living things or living organisms show certain characteristics that
distinguish them from other non-living things. The characteristics of living
things include cellular organization, nutrition, respiration, excretion,
reproduction, movement, response to stimuli, etc. These actions and
reactions are caused due to many organs and organ systems present in
the human body – a group of cells combined to form tissue. A group of
tissues combines together to form organs. A group of organs combines to
perform specific functions of an organ system. There are many organ
systems such as the digestive, respiratory, circulatory, nervous, etc.

VII. Reference
1. Introduction – Human Biology (pressbooks.pub)
2. https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/principles-of-
physiology/body-structure-and-homeostasis/a/tissues-organs-
organ-systems

VIII. Evaluation/Activity/Quiz
This quiz will be answered through Google Form.

1. Adrenosine triphosphate is the chemical substance that provides the energy

required for
A. Dialysis
B. Active transport
C. Osmosis
D. Passive transport

2. Is the sequence of base pairs in each gene of each chromosome that

determines
A. Anaphase
B. Translation
C. Heredity
D. Thymine

3. The internal living material of cells is/are the

A. Nucleus
B. Cytoplasm
C. Plasma membrane
D. Centrioles

4. Osmosis is the ________ of water across a selectively permeable membrane

when some of the solutes cannot cross the membrane.
A. Diffusion

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B. Equilibrium
C. Active transport
D. Filtration

5. The energy required for active transport process is obtained from

A. Diffusion
B. Osmosis
C. DNA
D. ATP

6. Is the function of blood transportation?

A. True
B. False

7. Blood is which type of tissue?

A. Epithelial
B. Nervous
C. Connective
D. Muscle

8. Which type of epithelial tissue is located on the urinary bladder?

A. Pseudostratified
B. Stratified transitional
C. Simple squamous
D. Simple cuboidal

9. What is the function of the connective tissue areolar?

A. Support, protection
B. Protection, insulation
C. Blood cell formation
D. Connection

10. The location of this epithelial tissue is the surface layer of lining of the
stomach, intestines, & parts of the respiratory tract. Choose the correct epithelial
tissue:
A. Simple columnar
B. Stratified squamous
C. Simple cubodial
D. Pseudostratified

11. Where is homeopoietic connective tissue located?

A. Glands; kidney tubules
B. Red bone marrow
C. Wall of the heart
D. Brain & spinal cord, nerves

12. Match the term listed to its corresponding word/pharse:Integumentary

A. Hair

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B. Spinal cord
C. Hormones
D. Tendons
E. Joints

13. Match the term listed to its corresponding word/pharse:Skeletal

A. Hair
B. Spinal cord
C. Hormones
D. Tendons
E. Joints

14. Match the term listed to its corresponding word/pharse:Muscular

A. Hair
B. Spinal cord
C. Hormones
D. Tendons
E. Joints

15. Match the term listed to its corresponding word/pharse:Nervous

A. Hair
B. Spinal cord
C. Hormones
D. Tendons
E. Joints

16. Match the term listed to its corresponding word/pharse:Endocrine

A. Hair
B. Spinal cord
C. Hormones
D. Tendons
E. Joints

17. Match the term listed to its corresponding word/pharse:Esophagus

A. Circulatory
B. Lymphatic
C. Urinary
D. Digestive
E. Respiratory

18. Match the term listed to its corresponding word/pharse:Ureters

A. Lymphatic
B. Urinary
C. Digestive
D. Respiratory
E. Reproductive

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 For our next module, we will be discussing The Skeletal System .
You can do an advance reading by searching the web or browsing
biology books for we will be having another pre-test at the beginning of the
discussion. You can contact me through my email or mobile number if there
are certain parts of this module that you do not understand. Thank you and
God bless!

MARIA CORAZON B. CONTANTE

Biology Instructor
09605538261
Corz Malonda Bombase-Contante
maria.contante@deped.gov.ph

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