The Human Body and

Germs

Healthy Learners

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Healthy Learners SHT Training, 2019 Edition
 Introduction

A Health Teacher has to understand the human body parts and how
these parts functions to effectively implement the school health
services. Further, the HT should know types of germs and how the
body reacts to infection.

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 Learning objectives
By the end of this chapter you will be able to:
• Explain the functions of the twelve human body systems;
• Explain the functions of the five human body vital organs;
• Explain the relationship between disease and anatomy;
• Define each of the four Categories of Germs; and
• Explain how one can keep themselves healthy

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 Human body

The human body is the physical structure and material substance of a

human being. The body systems include the skeletal, nervous,
muscular, respiratory, endocrine, immune, cardiovascular/circulatory,
urinary, integumentary, reproductive, and digestive systems. The basic
parts of the human body are the head, neck, torso, arms, and legs.
Germs are very small organisms that cause disease.

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 Human Body systems

• Our bodies consist of a number of biological systems that carry out

specific functions necessary for everyday living.
• There are the twelve body systems

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 Human Body systems cont.…
• The circulatory system moves blood, nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide,
and hormones around the body.
• The digestive system consists of a series of connected organs that
together allow the body to break down and absorb food, and remove
waste.
• The endocrine system consists of eight major glands that secrete
hormones into the blood. These hormones, in turn, travel to different
tissues and regulate various bodily functions, such as metabolism,
growth, and sexual function;
• The immune system is the body's defence against bacteria, viruses, and
other pathogens that may be harmful.
• The lymphatic system includes lymph nodes, lymph ducts, and lymph
vessels. It also plays a role in the body's defences. Its main job is to
make and move lymph, a clear fluid that contains white blood cells,
which help the body fight infection. The lymphatic system also removes
excess lymph fluid from bodily tissues and returns it to the blood;

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 Human Body systems cont.…
• The nervous system controls both voluntary action (like conscious movement) and
involuntary actions (like breathing) and sends signals to different parts of the body.
• The muscular system consists of about 650 muscles that aid in movement, blood
flow, and other bodily functions.
• The reproductive system allows humans to reproduce.
• The skeletal system, which consists of 206 bones that are connected by tendons,
ligaments, and cartilage. The skeleton not only helps us move, but it's also
involved in the production of blood cells and the storage of calcium.
• The respiratory system allows us to take in vital oxygen and expel carbon dioxide
in a process we call breathing. It consists mainly of the trachea, the diaphragm,
and the lungs;
• The urinary system helps eliminate a waste product called urea from the body,
which is produced when certain foods are broken down. and
• The skin, or integumentary system, is the body's largest organ. It protects us from
the outside world, and is our first defence against bacteria, viruses and other
pathogens

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 Human Body Vital organs
Humans have five vital organs that are
essential for survival
• The brain is the body's control centre
• It receives and sends signals to other
organs through the nervous system and
through secreted hormones.
• It is responsible for our thoughts, feelings,
memory storage, and general perception of
the world;

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 The Heart

• The heart is responsible for pumping blood throughout our body;

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 The kidneys

• The job of the kidney is to remove waste and extra fluid from the
blood.
• It take urea out of the blood and combine it with water and other
substances to make urine;

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 The liver

• It is the most important organ in the metabolic system:

• It help convert nutrients into usable substances.
• It detoxify harmful chemicals, breakdown drugs, filters blood,
secrets bile, and produces blood-clotting proteins;

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 The lungs

• Are responsible for removing oxygen from the air we breathe and
transferring it to our blood where it can be sent to our cells.
• They also remove carbon dioxide, which we exhale

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 Germs

• Germs are very small organisms that cause disease

• Because the cells and tissues in our body work so well together to
keep each other alive, our bodies are also very good places for
germs to grow.
• Germs often use the same nutrients that our cells use, so once
they get inside the body, it is possible for them to grow and spread.
• If they spread enough inside the body, they can damage or kill cells
in certain tissues, causing the signs and symptoms of the disease.
• There are thousands of different kinds of germs, but there are only
a few categories of germs:

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 Categories of Germs
• Viruses – the smallest germ, viruses can only reproduce inside the
cell of a human or animal. Viruses can survive outside of the
human body in water, in the air, or on surfaces but they must get
inside the body’s cells to replicate.
• Bacteria – one-cell organisms that can usually survive both outside
and inside the human body.
• Fungi – one-cell organisms that have some similarities to human
cells. Most fungi live outside of the human body in the environment,
but some can grow inside or on the body. Most fungal infections
occur on the skin or in the lungs. and
• Parasites – can be one-cell organisms (Protozoa) or much larger
worms (Helminths). Parasites often have complicated life cycles
with parts of their life outside humans, part inside humans, and
sometimes part in other animals.

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 Germs Routes of Entry

• Mouth or Nose - Germs can infect the surfaces of the mouth, inside
the nose, and inside the ear
• Eyes - Germs can get into the surface around the eye when
contaminated hands, fluids or objects touch the eye
• Genitals - The genitals can become infected with sexual contact or
from improper hygiene.
• Anus - Germs can be spread into the anus, most often during
sexual contact. Examples: STIs, HIV
• Breaks in the skin - When the normal skin is broken, from a cut,
burn, animal bite, or mosquito bite, germs can get into the skin or
into the blood

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Illustrated Picture of Spread of Germs

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 Diseases
• Diseases happen when one of the body’s systems becomes sick
due to:
– injury,
– infection,
– or lack the nutrients it needs to function properly.
• When one or more of the body systems become sick, we usually
feel ill, but the specific features of the illness depend on which body
systems are sick.
• You will learn to recognize many different features to look for or ask
a learner about that help tell you what kind of illness a learner has.
• There are two different types of illness features: signs and
symptoms

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 Signs and Symptoms

• Signs –physical indications of a disease that you can see

(observe), touch or smell by examining a learner. Temperature,
rash, swelling, and heart rate are examples of signs.
• Symptoms – indications of a disease that are felt by the learner.
You cannot see or observe symptoms, they must be told to you by
the learner. Pain, tiredness, headache, and upset stomach are
examples of symptoms.
• As HT, you will assess sick learners for many different kinds of
illnesses by screening for signs and symptoms using the ThinkMD
technology platform

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 Types of Illnesses

• Communicable (infectious or transmissible diseases)– result from

spread, presence or growth of germ, usually caused by or spread
from person-to-person (also from animal-to-person):
– Infections;
– Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs); and
– Neglected Tropical Diseases.
• Non-communicable – diseases that are not transmissible directly
from person-to-person.
– High blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, sickle cell disease,
cancers, etc

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 Keeping the Body Healthy

• Health is not merely the absence of illness

• There are several things we do to help our bodies fight
communicable diseases and avoid non-communicable diseases.
Three (3) of the most important preventative actions to take are:
– Improve their nutrition status;
– Get micronutrient supplementation and deworming regularly;
and
– Get immunized against diseases.

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 Nutrition

There are two types of nutrients that humans need to live, grow, and
be healthy: macronutrients and micronutrients
• Macronutrients are substances in food that people require in large
amounts in their diet. They are used by the body for many things,
including to make energy, to build cells and tissues, and to store
energy for later. Macronutrient types are fats, proteins,
carbohydrates, and water.
• When macronutrients are lacking or inadequate, malnutrition
results and the body will no longer be able to prevent infections

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 Nutrition cont.

• Micronutrients are substances from food that the body needs in

only small amounts but that are essential for good health.
Micronutrient types are vitamins and minerals. There are over 30
different micronutrients that the human body needs to function.
Examples of vitamins include: vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, and
vitamin B complexes. Examples of minerals include iron and
iodine.
• Micronutrients are essential for:
– Growth and development of children;
– Learning and cognitive development;
– Vision;
– Protection against infection; and
– Absorption of other nutrients by the body.

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 Micronutrient Supplementation and
Deworming
• One very common way to help learners get the micronutrients they
need is by providing learners with micronutrient supplementation
and deworming medication.
• The most common micronutrient supplementation provided to
learners are vitamin A and iron.
• Vitamin A supports healthy eyesight and helps immune cells in the
body fight off germs that enter the body.
• Children with vitamin A deficiency face an increased risk of
blindness and death from infections such as measles and
diarrhoea.
• Vitamin A supplement is given to learners 2-3 times per year. Iron
can be supplemented with iron tablets.
• This prevents iron deficiency, which can cause anaemia.

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 Micronutrient Supplementation and
Deworming cont.
• Deworming medication is a medicine that kills intestinal worms.
• There is a high burden of parasitic diseases and vitamin A
deficiency in Zambia.
• When a learner has an infestation of intestinal worms, the worms
consume macronutrients and micronutrients that the learner eats
instead of the learner digesting those nutrients.
• This can lead to malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency.
• Deworming medicine is given 2-3 times per year to all learners.

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 Immunization
• Immunization/vaccination is the introduction of dead or weakened
germs into the body, which causes the immune cells in the body to
learn how to protect against that germ.
• Vaccination
– Prevent the person from getting infected with that germ in the
future
– Can save your child’s life
– Are very safe and very effective
– Saves your family time and money by preventing disease
– Protects future generations
– Reduces hospitalizations and deaths
– Reduce cases of many deadly, infectious diseases
– Prevents outbreaks of diseases

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 General Principles of Vaccination
• Vaccines are given according to a schedule. Some vaccines are given in
the first few months of a child’s life, some are given later in the first year
of life, and some are given even later in childhood.
• Vaccines are free and can be provided at the health facility. Some
vaccines are provided during vaccination campaigns at schools (HPV).
• If a child has missed vaccines, they should go to the health facility. There
are schedules to help children catch up on missed vaccines.
• Vaccines can prevent infections caused by viruses or bacteria.
• The vaccination for human papilloma virus (HPV) is one vaccine that girl
child learners often receive at school. HPV is a sexually transmitted virus
that causes cancer in the cervix of girls and women. Cervical cancer is a
common cause of death, and vaccination against HPV significantly
reduces the risk of death from cervical cancer. All girls in Grade 4 should
receive the HPV vaccine.

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 Question and Answer

• Our bodies consist of a number of biological systems that carry out

specific functions necessary for everyday living. Name at least
three biological systems of the body.
• Humans have five vital organs that are essential for survival. Name
three and explain their functions.
• There are thousands of different kinds of germs, but there are only
a few categories of germs: Name the four categories of germs and
give a brief description of each.
• There are several things we do to help our bodies fight
communicable diseases and avoid non-communicable diseases.
Mention three (3) of the most important preventative actions one
would take?

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 END

Twalumba

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