Respiratory System

On average, we breathe 12 to 15 times a minute, that’s 17,000 breaths a day. Over the course of a year, 6 million breaths will be taken in the largest organ inside the body. The surface area of both lungs is about the same size as a tennis court. If we put the airways running through the lungs end to end, it would total 1,500 miles. That’s the distance from Chicago to Las Vegas. Every day you breathe in just over 2,000 gallons of air. Almost enough to fill a normal sized swimming pool. The mouth serves as an additional way to breathe, and its structures are essential for shaping sounds and creating speech.

Reproductive system 

Men produce 1,500 sperm per second, or 200 million a day. They must be kept in a cool environment, which is why the testicles are located outside the body. Sperm can live 3 to 5 days and are produced continuously. This means that over the course of a lifetime, roughly 5 billion sperm are made.

Women are born with all the eggs that they’ll ever have. At birth there are over 1 million eggs but that declines to about 300,000 by puberty. Eggs remain reproductively viable for 12 to 24 hours. Over a lifetime, women will release 300 to 500 eggs. The uterus also has an incredible capacity to stretch during childbirth, from the size of a lemon to roughly the size of a watermelon.

Birth control is NOT a new invention; it started over 4,000 years ago. The earliest record is from the Egyptian Kahum Gynaecological Papyrus which dates to 1875 BC. At least two methods are described. One using honey and another involving crocodile dung.  I’m not sure I would opt for the crocodile dung strategy. Fertility has been on the decline for decades, with a noticeable drop after 1957. A medical review found that sperm counts declined by an average of 1.2% per year between 1973 and 2018, accelerating after 2000. That’s more than a 50% decline. One in six couples in the United States is infertile according to a 2013 study.

Endocrine system 

The endocrine system is a network of chemical messenger glands that produce and use 30+ hormones to regulate growth, metabolism, reproduction, and mood. The pituitary and hypothalamus glands, located in the brain, are known as the master glands controlling the other glands. The largest gland is the thyroid. It looks like a butterfly and is in the throat. The smallest gland is the pineal gland which looks like a pinecone and is located in the brain. Additional glands include the adrenal glands, which sit atop each kidney and control chemicals in your bodies fight or flight response. The thymus gland sits over your heart. The stomach, pancreas and kidneys also have endocrine functionality helping to produce and release hormones.

Lymphatic system 

The lymphatic system is large complex system that maintains your overall health and immunity. It’s twice the size of the circulatory system.  It includes the spleen, around 600 nodes and various tubes located throughout the body. Lymph contains white blood cells, which are transported throughout the body to fight disease and filter out toxins. It’s important to note that the lymphatic system relies on muscle contraction, gravity and breathing to work. To operate at peak performance, we need to move frequently throughout our day.

Sensory System

The eyes, ears, nose and mouth are included in other body systems but are also part of a specialized sensory system. The eyes allow the body to interpret visual information, depth perception and color vision. The ears are part of the auditory system for hearing but also the vestibular system for balance. The ears convert sound waves into electrical impulses which are sent to the brain. The vestibular system sense movement and position, helping the brain maintain balance and orientation. The nose inhales oxygen, which is warmed, moistened and filtered, as large dust particles are trapped before going to the lungs. It exhales carbon dioxide and is the key organ for the sense of smell. The mouth is part of two systems, digestive and respiratory, and is mentioned in those systems.

Tips

One of the simplest ways to connect with your body and gain knowledge of human anatomy is purchasing a “Human Anatomy” coloring book. There are many versions, and I have listed the book I use on my reference page. It has great black and white diagrams with brief descriptions on each page.  Get out your favorite markers, or colored pencils and color them in. This makes it fun and interactive, which helps you remember the systems. Getting an organ system picture from Google is the second-best choice.

To establish a habit of body gratitude, set aside a few minutes each day to give thanks for an organ or system. You can use one fun fact for every system or focus on multiple facts for one system. Or create a combination depending on the time you have available. Have a picture handy. Find a quiet place to sit down and relax. Do 2 to 3 minutes of deep breathing focusing on that single organ or organ system. SMILE at that organ and thank it for how it functions using the fun facts listed.

For example, using the skeletal system, give thanks to the 206 bones in the system. Thank the marrow for creating stems cells and producing 200 billion blood, brain, heart and bone cells. Give special thanks for all the tiny bones in your hands and fingers which give you amazing dexterity.  Thank all the tiny bones in your feet for balance they provide and your femur for its strength and ability in moving your body. Thank your lower jawbone or mandible for incredible strength and ability to mash up food so it can be digested.

I have many protocols and instruments to help heal all the body’s systems.  If you’re interested in learning more or would like to schedule a session, contact Cheri Petro at Wholeharmonichealing@gmail.com