Structure and Function of Body Systems

This unit builds on cellular and molecular foundations to examine the anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of major body systems including integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, immune, and reproductive systems. Students explore how genetic and cellular processes drive growth, repair, and inheritance, and how system interactions maintain homeostasis and respond to disease.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the anatomical organization and functional relationships of the integumentary, skeletal (axial and appendicular), muscular, and cardiovascular systems by identifying major structures and explaining how their arrangement supports protection, movement, and circulation.
• Demonstrate key physiological processes—nerve impulse transmission, skeletal and cardiac muscle contraction, gas exchange, digestion, and the cardiac cycle—using diagrams, models, or laboratory simulations to show sequence, control mechanisms, and outcomes.
• Apply concepts of the cell cycle, mitosis/meiosis, genes, and probability rules to predict tissue growth, replacement, repair, and inheritance patterns, and relate these concepts to reproductive and developmental health.
• Evaluate pathophysiological conditions affecting the integumentary, muscular, digestive, and immune systems by interpreting signs, symptoms, and molecular markers to propose evidence-based interventions that restore or support homeostasis.