List Of Human Body Parts Names

The human body collectively is the most complex machine known to man, Like any machine, the human body is made of different body parts situated in some particular way with the goal of performing some function. This list of human body parts includes common anatomical divisions and the body parts that compose those divisions.

“The human body is strange and flawed and unpredictable. The human body has many secrets, and it does not divulge them to anyone, except those who have learned to wait.” — Paul Auster

The study of the macroscopic morphology and function of the human body is called gross anatomy. In general, the human body can be divided into 3 main anatomical areas: head, torso, and limbs.

In addition to the physical external parts, the human body can also be divided by organ system and the parts that compose those systems. The main organ systems of the human body are the respiratory system, the vascular system, the skeletal system, and the digestive system.

Human Body By Anatomical Region

Head

The human head consists of a fleshy outer portion covering a bony substructure called the skull. The primary purpose of the head is to contain and support the brain and primary sensory organs such as the mouth, eyes, ears, and nose. The head is probably one of the more delicate parts of the human body, as the vascular and musculature structures of the head consist of a number of small interconnected parts that need to be situated very particularly to function properly. The parts of the human head include:

  • Skull
  • Face
    • Eyes
    • Nose
    • Ears
    • Mouth
      • Tongue
      • Teeth
    • Cheeks
    • Chin
  • Neck
    • Trachea
    • Esophagus
    • Cervical vertebrae

Torso

The torso or “trunk” is the largest section of the human body and composes the bulk of the human body. The main function of the torso is to provide shape and structure to the human body and to house its vital internal organs such as the heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, liver, and kidneys. The torso also contains the majority of blood vessels that provide oxygen to the whole body. The parts of the human torso include:

  • Shoulders
  • Chest
    • Pectoralis (upper chest)
    • Ribcage
      • Lungs
      • Heart
  • Upper Abdomen
    • Abdominal muscles
    • Stomach
    • Kidneys
    • Liver
  • Lower Abdomen
    • Small Intestines
    • Large Intestines
    • Colon
    • Rectum
  • Posterior
    • Spine
    • Gluteus maximus (buttocks)

Limbs

The next important division of the human boy is its 4 limbs. The limbs are attached to the torso and their primary purpose is to interact with the environment via locomotion with the legs and manipulating objects with the arms. Humans are unique among tetrapods (organisms with 4 limbs) in that 2 are specialized for locomotion (legs/feet) and 2 are specialized for manipulating objects (arms/hands). Except for some parts of the face, the limbs, the hands in feet, in particular, contain the most nerve endings are so are specialized to sense touch. The main limbs of the human body are:

  • Arms
    • Brachium (upper arm)
      • Humerus
      • Biceps
      • Triceps
      • Elbow
    • Forearm
      • Ulna
      • Radius
      • Hand
        • Carpals
        • Metacarpals
  • Legs
    • Thigh
      • Quadriceps
      • Hamstring
      • Knee
    • Crus (lower leg)
      • Shin
        • Tibia
        • Fibia
      • Ankle
      • Foot
        • Tarsals
        • Metatarsals

Human Body Parts By Organ System

In addition to dividing the human body by anatomical region, one can also categorize the parts of the human body by organ system. In a nutshell, an organ system is a collective group of organs that work together to perform some specific function. The major organ systems of the human body are the respiratory system, vascular system, skeletal system, and the digestive system.

Respiratory System

The main function of the respiratory system is to facilitate the intake and removal of gaseous materials from the body. The respiratory system is the main mechanism by which the body replenishes its oxygen supplies and removes waste products from cellular respiration such as carbon dioxide. The main body parts of the human respiratory system are:

  • Trachea
  • Bronchioles
  • Lungs
    • Alveoli
  • Diaphragm

Through the coordinated functioning of these parts, the body is able to inhale air, extract oxygen from the air, remove carbon dioxide from the blood and expel gaseous waste.

Vascular System

The purpose of the vascular system (circulatory system) is to facilitate the transfer of oxygen saturated blood to the various extremities of the body and move de-oxygenated blood from those extremities to the lungs for reoxygenation. The vascular system also serves to circulate heat to the body. The vascular system is the single largest system in the body by length. If you took every blood vessel in the human body and laid them end to end, the resulting chain would stretch for 60,000 miles. The main parts of the human vascular system are:

  • Heart
  • Blood Vessels
    • Arteries
    • Veins
    • Capillaries
  • Blood

The exact boundaries of the vascular system are somewhat fuzzy, as virtually every other organ system incorporates some aspect of the vascular system in their functioning. The lymph system uses the vascular system to remove pathogens from the body, and the kidneys and liver serve to remove toxins from the blood.

Skeletal System

The skeletal system serves primarily to give the body physical structure and support its other parts. Human babies are initially born with 270 separate bones. Over time some of these bones will fuse together putting the grand total of bones in the adult skeletal system at 206. The largest bone in the body is the femur (thigh bone) and the smallest bone is the stirrup, one of the 3 ossicles in the human inner ear. Some of the main parts of the skeletal system are:

  • Skull
  • Vertebrae (spine)
  • Scapula (shoulder blades)
  • Ribs
  • Humerus
  • Ulna
  • Radius
  • Pelvis
  • Carpals/Metacarpals (hand bones)
  • Femur
  • Patella (kneecap)
  • Tibia (front of the shin)
  • Fibia
  • Tarsals/Metatarsals (foot bones)

Digestive System

The digestive system serves primarily to process and absorb nutrients from food. Most of the digestive muscles are contained in the torso and are composed of smooth muscle. Interestingly enough, the process of digestion actually begins before you even put any food in your mouth; it starts with salivary glands producing saliva in response to the sight and smell of food. The main parts of the human digestive system are:

  • Mouth
  • Esophagus
  • Stomach
  • Small Intestines
  • Large Intestine
  • Rectum

There are more organ systems in the body like the nervous system, endocrine system, urinary system, and the integumentary system (skin/nails/hair). Each of these organ systems can be decomposed into parts and all these organ systems work together to produce the proper functioning of the human body.