Cell Tissue Organ Organ System Organism Diagram

All 11 levels on the diagram

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In one body 7

Cell The smallest unit that is alive. Every living thing is made of at least one.
Tissue A group of similar cells that work together.
Organ Several kinds of tissue arranged to do one job. The stomach is one.
Organ system A group of organs that work together. The digestive system is one.
Organism One whole living thing, such as a person.
Atom The smallest level on this chart. Atoms join to make molecules.
Molecule Two or more atoms joined together. Water is one.

Beyond one organism 4

Population All the organisms of one species living in one place.
Community All the populations that live together in one place.
Ecosystem A community together with its nonliving surroundings.
Biosphere Every part of Earth where living things are found.

How this list was compiled: Every level and its one line read on 2026-10-01 and kept only where two of these list it. Wikipedia, Biological organisation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_organisation : the table from atom and molecule through cell, tissue, organ, organ system and organism to population, community, ecosystem and biosphere. Mader and Windelspecht, Essentials of Biology, 5th edition, figure 1.2 Levels of biological organization, read through full-text search on the Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/essentialsofbiol0000mich_5edi : the same levels with a line on each (a tissue is a group of cells with a common structure and function; an ecosystem is a community plus the physical environment). SEER Training Modules, Introduction to the Human Body, U.S. National Cancer Institute, https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/body/ : cells, tissues, organs and systems, with the stomach as the organ built from several tissues. The oxygen atom is drawn with eight electrons, two in the first shell and six in the second: Wikipedia, Oxygen (atomic number 8, electrons per shell 2, 6), and Los Alamos National Laboratory, Periodic Table of Elements, Oxygen, https://periodic.lanl.gov/8.shtml (atomic number 8, electron configuration 1s2 2s2 2p4). The pictures and the words in the boxes are our own. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01. Own original chart; nothing traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

Each box shows one level of organization and gives one line about it. The name of the level is blank: read the box, then name it. The first chart stays inside one body; the second goes beyond one organism.

Read the full guide

From cell to organism

This cells, tissues, organs, organ systems diagram follows one organ, the stomach. Similar cells form a tissue. Several tissues form an organ. Organs that work together form an organ system, and the organ systems together make up the organism. The two boxes before the cell are an atom and a molecule.

Beyond one organism

Organisms of one species living in one place are a population. All the populations in that place are a community. The community with its nonliving surroundings is an ecosystem, and all the places where life is found make up the biosphere.

Each level is made of the one before it, so follow the arrows from small to large.

Questions and answers

What are the levels of organization from smallest to largest?

Atom, molecule, cell, tissue, organ, organ system and organism, then population, community, ecosystem and biosphere. Some lists add steps, such as organelle between molecule and cell or biome between ecosystem and biosphere.

What is the difference between a cell, a tissue and an organ?

A cell is the smallest unit that is alive. A tissue is a group of similar cells that work together. An organ, such as the stomach, is built from several kinds of tissue. A cell tissue organ diagram shows them in that order.

What is the difference between a population and a community?

A population is the organisms of one species living in one place. A community is all the populations of different species living in that place. Add the nonliving surroundings and it is an ecosystem.

Is this the answer to "label the following parts of the human body structural hierarchy"?

It is the same ladder, from cells and tissues to organs, organ systems and the whole organism, but the chart is our own drawing and not an answer key for a course figure. Match each picture in your figure to its level.