Insta_nurses

  The rippling muscles of professional boxers or weight lifters are often the first thing that comes to mind when one hears the word muscle. But muscle is also the dominant tissue in the heart and in the walls of other hollow organs of the body. In all its forms, it makes up nearly half of the body’s mass. Functions of the Muscular System Producing movement is a common function of all muscle types, but skeletal muscle plays three other important roles in the body as well. Producing movement.  Mobility of the body as a whole reflects the activity of the skeletal muscles, which are responsible for all locomotion; they enable us to respond quickly to changes in the external environment. Maintaining posture.  We are rarely aware of the skeletal muscles that maintain body posture, yet they function almost continuously, making one tiny adjustment after another so that we can maintain an erect or seated posture despite the never-ending downward pull of gravity. Stabilizing joints.  As the ske

  Blood is the “river of life” that surges within us. It transports everything that must be carried from one place to another within the body- nutrients, wastes (headed for elimination from the body) and body heat through blood vessels. Long before modern medicine, blood was viewed as magical, because when it drained from the body, life departed as well. Functions of the Blood Blood is unique; it is the only fluid tissue in the body. 1.  Carrier of gases, nutrients, and waste products.  Oxygen enters blood in the lungsand is transported to cells. Carbon dioxide, produced by cells, is transported in the blood to the lungs, from which it is expelled. Ingested nutrients, ions, and water are carried by the blood from the digestive tract to cells, and the waste products of the cells are moved to the kidneys for elimination. 2.  Clot formation.  Clotting proteins help stem blood loss when a blood vessel is injured. 3.  Transport of processed molecules.  Most substances are produced in one pa

People are responsive creatures; hold freshly baked bread before us, and our mouths water; a sudden clap of thunder makes us jump; these “irritants” and many others are the stimuli that continually greet us and are interpreted by our nervous system; the four “traditional” senses—smell, taste, sight, and hearing- are called special senses. Functions of Special Senses The functions of the five special senses include: Vision.  Sight or vision is the capability of the eye(s) to focus and detect images of visible light on photoreceptors in the retina of each eye that generates electrical nerve impulses for varying colors, hues, and brightness. Hearing.  Hearing or audition is the sense of sound perception. Taste.  Taste refers to the capability to detect the taste of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons, etc. Smell.  Smell or olfaction is the other “chemical” sense; odor molecules possess a variety of features and, thus, excite specific receptors more or less strongly; thi