Humans vs. Animals Comparisons

Humans vs. Animals Comparisons

Circulatory System

Clownfish

Clownfish have a two chambered heart. This means that the clownfish only has one atrium and ventricle, and it also has two other parts: the sinus venosis and the bulbus arteriosis. The sinus venosis acts to bring oxygen deficient blood into the atrium. It also contains the SA Node, or the natural pacemaker, which sends the electrical impulse to make the heart beat. The bulbus arteriosis works to lower the blood pressure so that the gills can handle the pressure and won't rip apart due to their thin walls.

Humans

Locomotion

In humans, we have a four chambered heart with two atria and two ventricles, one on each side of the heart. These chambers contain veins and arteries to ferry blood throughout the body. The oxygen deficient blood enters into the right ventricle and atrium and then is sent to the lungs through the pulmonary vessels. It enters, now oxygen rich, back into the left ventricle. The right atrium contains the SA node, the pacemaker.

Poodle

The poodle has 319 bones in its body. The bones work to protect organs, help with movement, and make red blood cells. Similarly to humans, there are three types of bones in dogs: the appendicular, visceral, and axial. The appendicular is the bones of limbs, the visceral is bone that is part of an organ, and the axial is what makes up the sternum, ribs, skull and spine. It doesn't have a clavicle, so there is no 3-way rotational axis for the dog's forelegs. The coccyx makes up the tail, which helps them with balance, steering and communication.

Humans

Differences

The human skeletal system is very similar to dogs. The adult human has 206 bones in the body. They have the same functions as bones in dogs: to protect, facilitate movement and produce red blood cells. However, humans have a clavicle bone that allows for humans to bring an arm behind their back or around the front of the body. The arm can also be put in a sling because of this. This is called a 3-way rotational axis.

Humans have four chambers in their hearts, while clownfish have two. This allows humans to have a more efficient blood flow because the blood can flow much faster through the two sides of the heart. In addition, humans can handle a much higher blood pressure than humans because the thin walls of the gills can handle a much lower pressure than the lungs. If the human system switched with the fish system, the fish would not be able to handle the blood pressure we have and would wreck their gills, killing them. As for humans, our blood flow would not be efficient and quick enough to send blood all over our body, and we would likely be oxygen deficient.

Differences

Humans have a very similar skeletal system to dogs like poodles. However, one difference is the lack of a collarbone in dogs. If a dog and human switched skeletal systems, the dog would be able to put their front legs in a sling, and have a 3 dimensional rotation. This would mean that the front legs could rotate all the way around. If a human had a dog skeletal system, the possibilities of arm movement would be greatly diminished. We wouldn't be able to circle our arms around or put it in a sling when it was injured.

How photophores work

The light is produced by a chemical reaction that occurs between a light emitting pigment called luciferin and an enzyme component called luciferase. The reaction requires oxygen to produce ATP as well as magnesium in order to occur, and produces carbon dioxide as a byproduct. The light produced is used by animals for different things, such as defense and misdirection, camouflage, mating, communication, and vision. Processes of creating the light vary slightly from animal to animal, with some reactions needing other elements, such as calcium, or producing other byproducts, such as adenosine monophosphate or pyrophosphate.

Is it possible?

Bioluminescence in humans may be possible, but it would take many years to create. First, we would need to retrieve photophores, or photocyte cells, from animals that had them, or medically create similar cells to perform the same way photocytes do. Then there would have to be extensive testing to check the safety of the experiment. I feel that the experiment would be possible as medical advances continue, but would be time consuming and possibly not worth the risks involved.

Bioluminescence in humans

New organ system

Photophores in humans would be located on the tip of the finger as a way to produce light to help make life better for humans by providing light whenever necessary. This would be helpful for a variety of reasons. The light could be used to help find things or give light if you're ever in a situation that light is needed, like if you're lost or stuck somewhere. The photocyte cells would be injected into the tips of the index finger using a hypodermic needle on both hands as a kind of built-in flashlight. Because the photophores would produce carbon dioxide, the system would need to interact with the respiratory system and the circulatory system in order to get rid of the excess carbon dioxide. It would also need to access these systems to provide it with the oxygen it needs for ATP to occur, because the photophores require ATP in order to produce the light.

Nervous system

Photophores are organs in fish, fireflies, and some other invertebrates that give them bioluminescence. This means they can produce light with a chemical reaction. The simple photophore is .1 to .34 mm in width, and is made up of light generating cells called photocytes.

Bearded dragon

Differences

The bearded dragon has a nervous system that has a spinal chord, brain, nerves and sense organs. The brain is much less developed than in other animals. It contains nothing more than a brainstem and the cerebellum. The brain can control basic life needs like breathing, heart rate, body temperature and balance, but only has two parts, in contrast to most other animals who have more developed brain systems. The brainstem controls the "fight or flight" responses seen in animals like bearded dragons, and is sometimes seen as what controls primal emotions like hate, love, and lust. The cerebellum is what helps control balance and movement. It receives impulses from sensory organs to help it know when to send the signal to move.

The human brain is far more advanced than the reptilian brain. In fact, the brainstem is humans is often called the reptilian brain because it is all that reptiles have, other than the cerebellum. Although reptiles can perform basic functions to keep themselves alive, they are not capable of advancing to a level like humans. If humans and reptiles switched nervous systems, it's possible that reptiles would eventually become the master species because their brains would be very complex the way human brains are. With four lobes, a brainstem and a cerebellum, they would be capable of complex thought and understanding in a way similar to humans. Humans would drop low on the food chain and no longer be capable of life as it is today, only able to perform basic needs to keep them alive.

Digestive System

Differences

The human and amphibious digestive tracts are very similar other than the size and scale at which they work. The real difference is of the teeth and tongue and the way they are used. If adjusted accordingly to size, the digestive tracts swapped would not affect the life of humans or amphibians at a grand scale. However, the tongue and teeth swapping would affect change. If frogs had the tongue and teeth of humans, they would have to adapt to catching prey in a new way, because currently they rely on their tongue to shoot out and catch the insects they prey on, and once they adjusted could possibly eat other things that require more chewing and mechanical digestion before swallowing. As for humans, we would have to change what kind of food we eat because we wouldn't have teeth capable of chewing food for further digestion, and we could learn to hunt food in a new way using our new tongue.

Red Eyed Tree Frog

Humans

The red eyed tree frog's digestive tract is very similar to that of a humans. The food enters the mouth, passes down through the pharynx and the esophagus, and enters the stomach. The food is digested further in the stomach as it is physically broken down using smooth muscle and is chemically broken down by stomach acids. It then passes through the duodenum, ileum, and jejunum. Digestive juices from the pancreas are secreted through the liver to the small intestine to help in complete digestion. The red eyed tree frog's abnormality, however, lies in their mouth. The tongues of tree frogs spend most of their time curled up in the back of the mouth. However, when needed the tongue can flick out to catch prey. In addition, frogs have two types of teeth: the vomerine teeth and the maxillary teeth. Both kinds of teeth help to keep prey stuck in the mouth of the frog until it eats. The vomerine teeth are pointy and are found in clusters on the roof of the mouth. The maxillary teeth are found on the upper part of the frog's jaw inside of the mouth and don't serve to do much.

Humans

Humans have a comprehensive nervous system with the spinal chord, nerves, sense organs and brain. The brain consists of four lobes and the cerebellum. First, there is the frontal lobe that controls things like reasoning, critical thinking and movement. The parietal lobe takes in the sensory information from your sensory organs like touch, pressure and pain. The temporal lobe helps us hear and remember things, and the occipital lobe helps us to see and understand what we are seeing. We also have a brainstem and cerebellum like reptiles. Human brains are the most advanced in the world and part of the reason we are at the "top of the food chain".

Humans actual digestive tract is incredibly similar in structure to that of amphibians like red eyed tree frogs, except on a much larger scale to fit the body sizes of humans. Humans are much larger than frogs and therefore have to have an appropriately sized digestive system. Additionally, we have very different uses for our teeth and tongue. The teeth in humans are very important to physically break down the food we put into our body so it can pass down to be digested further in the stomach. The human tongue is also very important in digestion, but it cannot extend out of the mouth to catch prey like a frog's. It serves to manipulate food to be chewed and to help in swallowing.

Works Cited

Esi.stanford.edu, esi.stanford.edu/circulation/circulation5.htm.

Esi.stanford.edu, esi.stanford.edu/circulation/circulation6.htm.

“7 Amazing Animal Organs People Don't Have.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 14 Jan. 2017, news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/01/organs-mesentery-snakes-sharks/.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Photophore.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 July 1998, www.britannica.com/science/photophore.

“Digestive System of a Frog.” Digestive System of a Grasshopper | TutorVista, www.tutorvista.com/biology/digestive-system-of-a-frog.

“Dog Skeleton Facts (Video).” Simply For Dogs, 11 Aug. 2017, simplyfordogs.com/dog-skeleton/dog-skeleton-facts/.

“Frog and Human Anatomy Comparison.” Ms. Pearrow's 7th Grade Science, mspearrow.weebly.com/frog-and-human-anatomy-comparison.html.

“Gas Exchange in the Lungs.” Transparent Tape Test for Pinworms | Michigan Medicine, www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/tp10237.

“Luminous Organs or Photophore of the Fishes (With Diagram).” Your Article Library, 30 July 2016, www.yourarticlelibrary.com/fish/anatomy-and-physiology/luminous-organs-or-photophore-of-the-fishes-with-diagram/88411.

Millburn, Naomi. “The Function of Teeth on the Roof of a Frog's Mouth.” Animals - Mom.me, 21 Nov. 2017, animals.mom.me/function-teeth-roof-frogs-mouth-8262.html.

“Nervous System - Amphibians Bio Science.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/site/amphibiansbioscience/nervous-system.

“Reptilian Brain - Crystalinks.” Indian Language - Sanskrit - Crystalinks, www.crystalinks.com/reptilianbrain.html.

Ritchison, Gary. Bird Respiratory System, people.eku.edu/ritchisong/birdrespiration.html.

Respiratory System

Differences

While humans have lungs and a diaphragm, birds like finches use air sacs along with their lungs to help them breathe. If a human switched respiratory systems with a finch, the finch would no longer be able to fly. Birds use their efficient respiratory system to provide them with enough oxygen to be able to fly and live in higher altitudes, which would no longer be possible because the human lungs and diaphragm wouldn't provide enough oxygen. If a human had a bird's respiratory system, it is possible that we would be able to develop to be able to fly and exist at higher altitudes. At the very least, our breathing would be very efficient and we would have more oxygen to do things like singing or sports.

Finch

Finches breathe using lungs and air sacs and they have a unidirectional air flow. This means that the air coming in is mostly new air, not mixed with air already in the lungs, and has a high oxygen content, which helps because birds need more oxygen to maintain flight. The unidirectional air flow also means that air only flows one way through the lungs, so the birds can take in air even while they are exhaling. The finches' air sacs store and pump the air through the lungs. There are nine air sacs separated into anterior and posterior sections. They have thin walls and few vessels because they don't directly help with gas exchange, they are just mostly a ventilation system. This system is efficient enough to allow birds to breathe at very high altitudes.

Humans

The human respiratory system contains a set of lungs without air sacs. Humans use their diaphragm muscle to lower air pressure in the chest and inhale. The air travels through the pharnyx, trachea, bronchi and bronchioles, and into the alveoli, where gas exchange occurs. The air entering the lungs moves into the alveoli and the oxygen enters the capillaries that surround it. During this, the carbon dioxide in the bloodstream enters the capillaries and the alveoli to be removed during exhalation.