griffin

The lymphatic system protects our bodies, collects excess fluid called lymph, and returns it to the bloodstream. Lymph is moved through our body by contracting our muscles while running. The integumentary system senses outside stimuli, including changes in temperature. When we run, our thermoreceptors sense a rise in temperature and our hypothalamus signals blood vessels to relax and release heat. Sweat is also released to carry heat away. Thanks Colton. Our lymphatic system is in charge of protecting our bodies against viruses and bacteria, as well as collecting any excess fluid from our body's tissues and returning it to the bloodstream. This excess fluid is called lymph. Lymph travels through lymphatic vessels that run parallel to our blood vessels, where it returns most substances to the bloodstream. Blood is pumped throughout our body through our autonomic nervous system and is involuntary, but lymph is moved through our somatic nervous system and is voluntary. Contracting our muscles acts as a pump that moves lymph to all parts of our body. The muscles we use while we run, like our hip flexors, quadriceps, and arm muscles, help lymph pass through our body and collect any excess fluid. Our nervous system works with our lymphatic system by contracting and relaxing our muscles when we run to let lymph flow where we need it to. One of the many functions of the integumentary system is to sense outside stimuli. Our skin can sense various stimuli with the many different receptors that we have, one of those being thermoreceptors. These receptors are responsible for sensing changes in temperature, which happens a lot during physical activity. When we run, our thermoreceptors are sensing a rise in temperature from inside our body. Heat is being released by the active muscles used in running, which the blood carries away. Our hypothalamus is in charge of regulating our body temperature and keeping it close to the set point of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. When blood-containing heat reaches our hypothalamus, it then signals the smooth muscle in the walls of our dermal blood vessels to relax. When the vessels dilate, more blood is able to flow through them, and heat is released to lower the body temperature. At the same time, all this goes on, our autonomic nervous system is stimulating our sweat glands to release sweat onto the surface of our skin. When sweat evaporates, it carries heat with it away from the surface. Now here's Sabrina to talk about the digestive and urinary systems.