By the map
Body Systems
24 stories
Nerves & senses
- How Pain Is Made · a decision, not a readoutThe pain you feel is a conclusion your nervous system computes, not a reading sent straight up from the wound.Body Systems · Nerves & senses6 stations
- Nervous SystemA clean nerve signal needs two things at once: a few charged minerals, plus enough energy.Body Systems · Nerves & senses6 stations
- How Memories FormRemembering yesterday's dinner with a friend involves material scattered across the brain: what you saw, what was said, the taste of the food, each…Body Systems · Nerves & senses5 stations
- Neurovascular couplingThe brain keeps almost no energy in reserve, yet it never stops spending energy.Body Systems · Nerves & senses4 stations
- The astrocyte fuel kitchenA neuron at work burns sugar, but the cell that fetches that sugar from the blood and gets the fuel ready is often its neighbor, the astrocyte: a…Body Systems · Nerves & senses4 stations
- Hearing & the CochleaThe cochlea lays sound out by pitch: high notes land at one end, low notes at the other, and each pitch has its own place along a single membrane.Body Systems · Nerves & senses5 stations
- The Vestibular System · why the room spins, and why it's rarely your neckYou stay upright not because of one organ, but because three streams of information vote in your brain: the vestibular system of the inner ear (the…Body Systems · Nerves & senses7 stations
Heart, lungs, blood & immunity
- Immune SystemThe immune system's goal is not to run at full power all the time.Body Systems · Heart, lungs, blood & immunity6 stations
- Lymphatic SystemYou actually have two plumbing networks.Body Systems · Heart, lungs, blood & immunity6 stations
- Cardiovascular SystemThe heart is a pump that never stops for a lifetime, and it has to eat and drink too: it needs a steady supply of energy, a few minerals, and oxygen…Body Systems · Heart, lungs, blood & immunity6 stations
- Respiratory SystemThe shape of the lung is forced on it by physics.Body Systems · Heart, lungs, blood & immunity6 stations
- Nasal Breathing, Mouth Breathing & Mouth TapingEvery breath you take passes through the nose before it reaches the lungs.Body Systems · Heart, lungs, blood & immunity5 stations
- Blood work decoded · specialized markersA routine checkup measures blood lipids, glucose, liver enzymes and kidney function: the body's big board.Body Systems · Heart, lungs, blood & immunity8 stations
- Blood work decoded · routine chemistryThe easiest mistake with a lab report is panicking at a single arrow.Body Systems · Heart, lungs, blood & immunity8 stations
Digestion, metabolism & excretion
- Digestive SystemStomach acid (hydrochloric acid) is the strongest acid in the body: on an empty stomach, gastric juice sits at about pH 1.5–2.0, more acidic than…Body Systems · Digestion, metabolism & excretion7 stations
- Endocrine SystemThe endocrine system is the body's long-distance command network.Body Systems · Digestion, metabolism & excretion6 stations
- Hepatic SystemAlmost everything you eat passes through the liver before it reaches the rest of the body.Body Systems · Digestion, metabolism & excretion6 stations
- Renal SystemYour kidneys do not use pain as an alarm, so the only way to know how they are doing is a lab test.Body Systems · Digestion, metabolism & excretion6 stations
Structure & reproduction
- Bone SystemBone is living tissue, always being taken apart and rebuilt.Body Systems · Structure & reproduction6 stations
- Muscle SystemExercise is more than burning calories.Body Systems · Structure & reproduction6 stations
- Integumentary SystemThe outermost layer of your skin is replaced every few weeks, but the collagen deep underneath takes years to renew.Body Systems · Structure & reproduction6 stations
- Reproductive · PregnancyIf you want a child, the most valuable preparation happens in the 3 months before you conceive, not after.Body Systems · Structure & reproduction6 stations
- Joints — The Cartilage & Tendon EconomyA joint is not two bones meeting at a point.Body Systems · Structure & reproduction7 stations
- Menstrual Cycle · Period CareThe menstrual cycle is not the uterus acting alone.Body Systems · Structure & reproduction6 stations