Capillaries are small thin-walled vessels that permit the exchange of oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, and waste between blood and the body's cells. This process of exchange is called diffusion.

During a chemical reaction molecules and atoms (reactants) are rearranged into new combinations that result in new kinds of atoms or molecules (products).

A compound is a substance containing two or more different chemical elements bound together by a chemical bond. In covalent compounds, electrons are shared between atoms. In ionic compounds, one atom borrows an electron from another atom resulting in two ions (electrically charged atoms) of opposite polarities that then become bonded electrostatically.

An electron is a subatomic particle that orbits the nucleus of an atom. It carries a negative electric charge. Generally, an atom has the same number of negative electrons orbiting the nucleus as it does positive protons inside.

Part of the peripheral nervous system, the somatic nervous system is made up of nerve fibers that send sensory information to the central nervous system and control voluntary actions.