Internal Organs in Spanish: A Complete Vocabulary Guide
Every time you try to learn about inside body parts in Spanish, do you feel like you’re applying to med school?
If you’re looking to increase your vocabulary about organs in Spanish but don’t want to get too technical, this is the blog post for you.
Keep reading to learn about the internal organs in Spanish in a practical and simple way!
Table of Contents:
- Why Learn About Body Parts and Internal Organs in Spanish?
- List of Body Organs in Spanish
- Learn the Inside Body Parts in Spanish and Improve Your Language Skills
Why Learn About Body Parts and Internal Organs in Spanish?
Learning a language is a process that involves many aspects. Among the most significant ones are grammar rules, pronunciation, reading and listening comprehension, and vocabulary.
Without knowing the Spanish words to name things, you can’t hold a conversation or understand what someone tries to tell you. That’s why here at the HSA blog, we’ve been tirelessly working to provide you with all the vocabulary you need, from sports terms to accounting words, and, yes, even body parts.
Learning about body parts and internal organs in Spanish is important not only for people working in the medical sector, but also for anyone who goes to the doctor or travels in a Spanish-speaking country. So, basically everybody. It’s part of the deal, if you’re learning Spanish you need to learn this vocabulary.
List of Body Organs in Spanish
To help you organize your learning process, I’ve distributed this comprehensive list of organs into the six main systems of the human body.
For each organ I’m including its name in English, its Spanish translation, and a brief description of what it does.
The Digestive System
Let’s start with the digestive system, which is responsible for processing food and “absorbing and moving the nutrients to where they are needed.” The digestive system contains the gastrointestinal tract (made up of a series of hollow organs), the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder.
| Organ | Function |
| anus – el ano | Lets stool out of the body |
| appendix – el apéndice | Unknown |
| cecum – el ciego | Absorbs fluids and salts |
| colon – el colon | Removes water and nutrients from partially digested food |
| duodenum – el duodeno | Beginning absorption of nutrients |
| esophagus – el esófago | Moves food and liquids through the gastrointestinal tract |
| ileum – el íleon | Absorbs nutrients and water from food |
| jejunum – el yeyuno | Helps digest food. |
| large intestine – el intestino grueso | Turns food waste into stool |
| liver – el hígado | Processes the blood, breaking down and creating nutrients |
| mouth – la boca | Chews food |
| pancreas – el páncreas | Makes enzymes to break down sugars, fats, and starches |
| rectum – el recto | Holds stool until evacuation |
| small intestine – el intestino delgado | Absorbs nutrients and water from food |
| stomach – el estómago | Mixes food with digestive juice |
The Respiratory System
The respiratory system is “the network of organs and tissues that help you breathe.” The organs that make up the respiratory system are responsible for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
| Organ | Function |
| air sacs (alveoli) – los alveólos | Moves oxygen and carbon dioxide into and out of the bloodstream |
| diaphragm – el diafragma | Helps with inhaling and exhaling |
| epiglottis – la epiglotis | Prevents food and drink from entering the windpipe |
| large airways (bronchi) – los bronquiolos | Carries air into the lungs |
| lungs – los pulmones | Moves fresh air into the body and removes gas waste |
| mouth – la boca | Lets air in and out |
| nasal cavity – la cavidad nasal | Filters and moisturizes the air before it goes to the lungs |
| nose – la nariz | Lets air in and out |
| sinuses – los senos paranasales | Moisturizes the inside of the nose |
| small airways (bronchioles) – los bronquiolos | Carries air into the alveoli |
| throat (pharynx) – la garganta (la faringe) | Carries air into the larynx |
| voice box (larynx) – la laringe | Carries air into the trachea |
| windpipe (trachea) – la tráquea | Carries air in and out of the lungs |
The Circulatory System
The circulatory system, also known as the cardiovascular system, “transports oxygen and other nutrients to all the organs and tissues in your body.” It’s made up of the heart and blood vessels.
| Organ | Function |
| arteries – las arterias | Carries oxygenated blood to the body organs |
| capillaries – los capilares | Facilitates exchange of nutrients, oxygen, and waste between the circulatory system, organs, and tissues. |
| heart – el corazón | Pumps blood throughout the body |
| veins – las venas | Carries deoxygenated blood back to the heart |
The Muscular System
The muscular system “converts chemical energy from food into mechanical energy.” It’s responsible for movement, support, protection, heat generation, and blood circulation. There are 700 muscles in the human body, but you don’t need to know them all unless you want to become a doctor.
However, it’s important for you to know that three types of muscles exist: visceral, cardiac, and skeletal.
| Organ | Function |
| biceps – el bíceps | Helps with arm lifting and pulling movements |
| cardiac muscles – los músculos cardíacos | Makes the heart contract and expand |
| deltoid – el deltoides | Helps to move the arms |
| pectoralis – el pectoral | Helps to move the arms |
| quadriceps – el cuadríceps | Helps to move the legs |
| rectus abdominus – el recto abdominal | Moves the body between the rib cage and the pelvis |
| skeletal muscles – los músculos esqueléticos | Creates movement in the body |
| tendons – los tendones | Connects muscles to bones |
| visceral muscles – los músculos viscerales | Makes organs contract to move substances through them |
The Nervous System
The nervous system is “responsible for the control of the body and communication among its parts.” The nervous system is divided into two parts:
- The central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)
- The peripheral nervous system (nerves and ganglia)
Learn more detailed vocabulary about the brain and nervous system here.
| Organ | Function |
| brain – el cerebro | Controls thought, motor skills, memory, and every other process that regulates the body |
| spinal cord – la espina dorsal | Carries nerve signals from the brain to the body and the other way around |
| nerves – los nervios | Sends electrical signals to and from cells, glands, and muscles |
| ganglia – los ganglios | Carries nerve signals to and from the central nervous system |
| neurons – las neuronas | Transmits information between different areas of the brain |
Learn the Inside Body Parts in Spanish and Improve Your Language Skills
Learning vocabulary about the internal organs in Spanish is an important step in your language learning process. It’s useful knowledge that becomes much more important in specific contexts.
Practice at home this newly acquired vocabulary and keep improving your language skills. Remember that learning Spanish opens many doors for you, including the opportunity to get better jobs and to communicate with millions of people in the U.S.
Sign up today for a free trial class at HSA with one of our certified, native Spanish speaking teachers from Guatemala. We teach over 24,000 actively enrolled students every month and offer flexible scheduling, and tailored Spanish programs.
Join one of the 40,000 classes that we teach each month and you can experience results like these
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“HSA offers very affordable, quality, one on one classes with a native speaker. My son has greatly benefited from taking classes. We have seen his confidence increase as well as his pronunciation improve, because he learns from a native Spanish speaker. HSA has quick, personal customer service. I have appreciated the one on one interaction and teaching that my son gets from his teachers. He has gotten to know his teachers, which has increased his confidence in speaking Spanish. Our family has been very pleased with our experience so far!”
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