ABSTRACT
Modern imaging techniques allow all parts of the body to be examined without a knife or even a finger being laid on the body. To describe how structures lie in relation to one another, an agreed standard position of the body, the anatomical position, is used. This is where the body is standing upright with the feet together, the head and eyes facing forwards and the arms straight at the sides with the palms of the hands facing forwards. However, the various structures of the body can also be grouped together according to their common function, to make up what are commonly called systems. The digestive system is concerned with the digestion and absorption of the foodstuffs necessary to provide the chemical energy for all body functions. The system is concerned with the production, storage and elimination of urine in order to maintain the body's proper content of water and dissolved substances.
