Thigh to Lung: Kelly’s Body
Elizabeth Geter
HS130 – 05
Unit # 4 Assignment
Kaplan University
May 14, 2013

THIGH TO LUNG: KELLY’S BODY
Today we will take a journey through Kelly’s body by shrinking ourselves down to microscopic size and actually travelling as though we were blood. While we are there, we are lucky enough to be able to see how her body will handle an invading bacterium and learn about immunity. Pay careful attention as you learn where veins, arteries, and organs are as we pass them as well as their functions. We will begin our journey in Kelly’s right femoral vein. As we go through the femoral vein the first vein and artery we pass is the external iliac. The external iliac artery supplies blood and oxygen to the tissues of the genitalia and lower trunk muscles; whereas, the vein drains the blood from the tissue of the lower limb. Now we see the internal iliac vein and artery. The internal iliac artery supplies the pelvic viscera and rectum, while the vein drains the pelvic viscera. As we travel a little further up we begin to see the major organs. The first organ up is the urinary bladder which is a part of the urinary system. Its function is to store urine until it exits the body. Next we see the small and large intestines. They are part of the digestive system. Now we see the kidneys which are a part of the urinary system. Their function is to filter blood of waste products and to maintain electrolyte, water, and acid-base balance in the body. It is important to note that in the kidneys is the renal artery which supplies the kidneys with blood and oxygen. We are now coming upon the gallbladder and the pancreas. The gallbladder is a part of the digestive system and functions to concentrate and store bile. The pancreas is part of the endocrine system and functions to contain enzymes that are extremely important in proper breaking down of food during the digestion process. Not only does it do that, but it also secretes hormones into the blood. We now will come upon another vein which is the superior mesenteric vein which drains blood from the small intestine and most of the colon. Now we come upon the abdominal aorta which is the section of the large vessel aorta that starts in the heart, goes through the diaphragm and into the abdomen. This particular section of the aorta is the part that “supplies blood and oxygen mainly to the organs in the abdomen and pelvis and to the legs” (Nnama, 2011). Next up is the superior mesenteric artery which supplies the small intestine and upper half of the large intestine. Now you can see the stomach which is a part of the digestive system and serves as storage for food after it has been chewed, swallowed, and passed through the esophagus. We are also looking at the liver which is also a part of the digestive system that produces bile. Also, look at the spleen. It is part of the lymphatic system that is involved in moving fluids from tissue spaces around cells and moving fat-related nutrients back to the blood, it is also involved in the immune system. The arteries in this area are the celiac (supplies the stomach, liver, and spleen) and the splenic (supplies the spleen). The veins in this area are the hepatic portal (drains liver and gallbladder), splenic (drains spleen), and hepatic (drains liver). Now we start our entry into the heart. We enter in through the superior vena cava which is a vein that drains blood from the head, neck, and upper extremities. We go from there to the right atrium through the tricuspid valve and into the right ventricle. From here we go to the lungs where gas exchange happens in the blood. This is going to be a stopping point for a minute so that we can explore the lungs carefully. We are in the right lung, which is split into three lobes (the left lung only has 2 lobes). These are the right superior lobe, the right middle lobe, and the right inferior lobe (Thibodeau & Patton, 2008). The lungs are