Organ (anatomy)
In biology, an organ (Latin: organum, "instrument, tool") is a group of tissues that perform a specific function or group of functions. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues. The main tissue is the one that is unique for the specific organ. For example, main tissue in the heart is the myocardium, while sporadic are the nervous, blood, connective etc.
A tissue is an aggregation of interconnected, morphologically, and functionally similar cells, and associated intercellular matter, that together perform one or more specific functions within an organism. Organs are composed of several tissues that interact to perform a specific function (Towle 1989).
Cells work together harmoniously in tissues and organs to perform various function, such as the heart pumping blood. In a living organism, cells depend upon other cells to perform their particular functions to keep the entire organism alive (Towle 1989).
Cells work together harmoniously in a tissue to perform a function(s), such as epithelial tissue in the stomach producing the enzyme pepsin to help with digestion, or muscle tissue providing movement. Each cell not only performs actions for its own maintenance, self-preservation, and self-strengthening, but also performs specific actions that contribute to the larger entity, the tissue and the body. The body, on the other hand, supports the individual cell by providing food, oxygen, and other necessary materials, and by transporting away toxic waste materials. Each cell actively depends on the other cells in the body to perform their functions and thus keep the body in proper functioning order. The harmony seen between cells in a tissue reflects upon human society, where ideally individuals would contribute to their families (as cells to tissues), their families to their communities, their communities to their societies, their societies to their nations, and their nations to the world, and in turn each would be benefited by those larger entities.
Animal organs
Common animal (including human) organs include the heart, lungs, brain, eye, stomach, spleen, bones, pancreas, kidneys, liver, intestines, skin (the largest human organ), uterus, and bladder. Animal organs inside the body are often referred to as internal organs. The internal organs collectively are often called viscera, the plural of the rarely-used term viscus.
Plant organs
Plant organs can be divided into vegetative and reproductive. Vegetative plant organs are root, stem and leaf, while reproductive are flower, seed and fruit.
The vegetative organs are essential for maintaining the life of a plant (they do the vegetative, vital functions, like photosynthesis), while the reproductive are essential in the reproduction. But, if there is asexual vegetative reproduction, the vegetative organs are those which create the new generation of plants; therefore usually creating a clonal colony.
Organ systems
A group of related organs is an organ system. Organs within a system may be related in any number of ways, but relationships of function are most commonly used. For example the urinary system comprises organs that work together to produce, store, and carry urine.
The functions of organ systems often share significant overlap. For instance, the nervous and endocrine system both operate via a shared organ, the hypothalamus. For this reason, the two systems are combined and studied as the neuroendocrine system. The same is true for the musculoskeletal system, which involves the relationship between the muscular and skeletal systems.
Organs of the human body by region
Head and neck
- face
- orbit
- eye
- mouth
- tongue
- teeth
- nose
- ears
- scalp
- larynx
- pharynx
- salivary glands
- meninges
- brain
- thyroid
- parathyroid gland
Back and spine
- vertebra
- spinal cord
Thorax
- mammary gland
- ribs
- lungs
- heart
- mediastinum
- oesophagus
- diaphragm
Abdomen
Pelvis
- pelvis
- sacrum
- coccyx
- ovaries
- Fallopian tube
- uterus
- vagina
- vulva
- clitoris
- perineum
- urinary bladder
- testicles
- rectum
- penis
Limbs
- muscle
- skeleton
- nerves
- hand
- wrist
- elbow
- shoulder
- hip
- knee
- ankle
| Human organ systems |
|---|
| Cardiovascular system | Digestive system | Endocrine system | Immune system | Integumentary system | Lymphatic system | Muscular system | Nervous system | Skeletal system | Reproductive system | Respiratory system | Urinary system |
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