Systems that unite all organs are also called functional systems. Such structures in plant and animal organisms exist in order to fully fulfill their role.
What is an organ system
Systems that unite all organs represent their totality arising for the implementation of their common function. Very often, individual body structures cannot fully fulfill one or another role. Therefore, organs are combined into systems. They are quite diverse in their structure. For example, animal organ systems read over ten and provide the whole body with the job.
Animal organ systems
A distinctive feature of animals is the ability to heterotrophic nutrition and active movement. They are represented by both unicellular and multicellular forms. Organ systems (the table below contains information about the main features of their structure) have a certain specialization. However, some of them perform several functions at once. For example, respiratory and circulatory gas exchange in the body.
Organ systems: table
The structural features of animal organ systems are shown in the following table.
| The name of the organ system | The bodies that make up the systems | Functions Performed |
| Musculoskeletal | Skeleton (can be external and internal), muscles and ligaments | The movement of individual organs and the whole organism in space |
| Circulatory | Heart and blood vessels | Gas exchange, the formation of immunity, body protection |
| Breathing | In aquatic animals, it is represented by gills, in terrestrial animals - by the light and airways | Gas exchange |
| Excretory | Excretory tubules, malpighian vessels, in chordates - kidneys, ureters and bladder | Excretion of metabolic products from the body |
| Digestive | Digestive tract and glands: salivary, pancreas, liver | The breakdown and digestion of substances |
| Sexual | Gonads, ducts and cells - gametes | Play your own kind |
| Nervous | Spinal cord and brain, as well as cranial and spinal nerves | The implementation of the relationship of the body with the environment |
| Endocrine | Glands of external and internal secretion and excretory pathways | Humoral regulation of body functions |
| Lymphatic system | Lymphatic vessels and nodes | Maintaining the constancy of the internal environment of the body, the formation of immunological reactions |
| Sensory | Receptors, nerve fibers, brain centers | Perception of environmental information |
Organ systems of animals and plants: the main differences
Now consider the general plan of the structure of multicellular plant organisms. They, like animals, are made up of cells that combine into tissues. Here is the first difference. In plants, specialized organs form integumentary, basic, mechanical, conductive, and educational tissues. In animals, they are different. These are epithelial, connective, muscle and nerve. Accordingly, the organs that they form will differ in structure and function.
Their next difference is that plants do not emit systems. Speaking of their structure, they call the underground organ - the root, as well as the part that is on the surface - the shoot. The latter, in turn, consists of a stem and leaves. Systems that combine all the organs of animals are not only physiological, but also functional systems.
Systems integrating all organs
As a result, all systems are combined into a single and global, which is called a living organism. In humans, regulation of its function is carried out in two ways: nervous and humoral. They have different mechanisms and speed of exposure. Nervous regulation is carried out by the system of organs of the same name. Its initial link are receptors. With their help, the body perceives a variety of information, which subsequently is converted into impulses and transmitted to the corresponding sections of the central nervous system. There, a response of the body is formed, coming in the opposite direction to the working body. The operation of this mechanism lasts almost an instant. But humoral regulation is carried out differently. It occurs with the help of the endocrine glands, which secrete special substances into the blood - hormones. They affect various body functions. Their action is quite long. For example, the growth hormone that secretes iron to the pituitary gland is secreted in humans over 20–25 years.
So, the general plan of the structure of living organisms is the following structures: cells, tissues, organs, organ systems. The latter are combined to more effectively implement a variety of functions, ensuring coordinated work as a whole.