Most animals consume other organisms to survive. Consumers (heterotrophs) are divided into three types, primary, secondary, and tertiary, based on their place in the food chain.

After air enters through the nose, it passes through the nasal cavity which filters, moistens, and warms it. Further filtering takes place in the pharynx, which also helps protect against infection, and then in the trachea which is just past the epiglottis, responsible for preventing food from entering the airway.

The heart is the organ that drives the circulatory system. In humans, it consists of four chambers with two that collect blood called atria and two that pump blood called ventricles. The heart's valves prevent blood pumped out of the ventricles from flowing back into the heart.

The spinal cord connects the brain to the body's network of nerves. It carries impulses between all organs and the brain and controls simple reflexes.