In the human digestive system, the process of digestion has many stages, the first of

which starts in the mouth (oral cavity). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into
smaller and smaller components which can be absorbed and assimilated into the body.
The secretion of saliva helps to produce a bolus which can be swallowed to pass down
the oesophagus and into the stomach.
Saliva also contains a catalytic enzyme called amylase which starts to act on food in the
mouth. Digestion is helped by themastication of food by the teeth and also by
the muscular contractions of peristalsis. Gastric juice in the stomach is essential for the
continuation of digestion as is the production of mucus in the stomach.

The respiratory system (called also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is

a biological system consisting of specificorgans and structures used for the process
of respiration in an organism. The respiratory system is involved in the intake
andexchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between an organism and the environment.

The nervous system is the part of an animal's body that coordinates its voluntary and
involuntary actions and transmits signals between different parts of its body. Nervous
tissue first arose in wormlike organisms about 550 to 600 million years ago. In most
animal species it consists of two main parts, the central nervous system (CNS) and
the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The CNS contains the brain and spinal cord. The
PNS consists mainly of nerves, which are enclosed bundles of the long fibers or axons,
that connect the CNS to every other part of the body. The PNS includes motor neurons,
mediating voluntary movement; the autonomic nervous system, comprising
the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system, which
regulate involuntary functions, and the enteric nervous system, which functions to
control the gastrointestinal system.

The endocrine system refers to the collection of glands of an organism

that secrete hormones directly into the circulatory system to be carried towards distant
target organs. The major endocrine glands include the pineal gland, pituitary
gland, pancreas, ovaries, testes, thyroid gland, parathyroid
gland, hypothalamus, gastrointestinal tract and adrenal glands. The endocrine system is
in contrast to the exocrine system, which secretes its hormones using ducts. The
endocrine system is an information signal system like the nervous system, yet its effects
and mechanism are classifiably different. The endocrine system's effects are slow to
initiate, and prolonged in their response, lasting from a few hours up to weeks. The
nervous system sends information very quickly, and responses are generally short lived.
In vertebrates, the hypothalamus is the neural control center for all endocrine systems.
The field of study dealing with the endocrine system and its disorders is endocrinology,
a branch of internal medicine.

The lymphatic system is a series of vessels throughout the body that drain fluid from
tissues. Bacteria and other microbes are picked up in the lymphatic fluid and trapped
inside lymph nodes, where they can be attacked and destroyed by white blood cells.

The male reproductive system consists of a number of sex organs that

form a part of the human reproductive process. In this type of reproductive
system, these sex organs are located outside the body, around the pelvic
region.

The female reproductive system is designed to carry out several functions. It produces
the female egg cells necessary for reproduction, called the ova or oocytes. The system
is designed to transport the ova to the site of fertilization. Conception, the fertilization of
an egg by asperm, normally occurs in the fallopian tubes. The next step for the fertilized
egg is to implant into the walls of the uterus, beginning the initial stages of pregnancy. If
fertilization and/or implantation does not take place, the system is designed to
menstruate (the monthly shedding of the uterine lining). In addition, the female
reproductive system produces female sex hormones that maintain the reproductive
cycle.