Gesamtorgan

Gesamtorgan is a German term that literally means the "whole organ." It refers to the organ considered as an integrated functional unit, including its tissues, structures, and interacting subsystems. The concept emphasizes emergent properties that arise from the coordination of the organ’s parts.

The term appears across disciplines such as anatomy, physiology, botany, and zoology. It is used when discussing organ-level function or pathology, where the focus is on the organ as a whole rather than on individual tissues or cells. For example, in physiology one might study the heart as the Gesamtorgan, comprising myocardium, the conduction system, valves, and surrounding structures, and consider how electrical, muscular, and hemodynamic processes integrate to support circulation.

The Gesamtorgan concept is largely descriptive rather than a formally codified technical term. It serves to highlight holistic properties and system-level interactions, and its precise interpretation can vary with context, author, and field.

See also: Organ, Organ system, Physiology, Botany, Systems biology.