Preview

Homeostasis

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
803 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Homeostasis
Homeostasis
A condition in which the internal environment of the body remains relatively constant despite changes in the external environment. Examples would be the maintenance of body temperature and levels of glucose in the blood

Homeostatic mechanisms are designed to reestablish homeostasis when there is an imbalance.
The Home Heating System
1. When the temperature of a room decreases below a set point, the thermostat electrically starts the furnace.
2. As the temperature of the room rises to the set point, the thermostat shuts down the furnace.
3. As the room cools, step one is repeated.

There are three components to this system:
1. The Sensor which detects the stress.
2. The Control Center which receives information from the sensor and sends a message to the Effector.
3. The Effector which receives the message from the control center and produces the response which reestablishes homeostasis.

There are three components to a homeostatic system:
1. The Sensor which detects the stress.
2. The Control Center which receives information from the sensor and sends a message to adjust the stress.
3. The Effector which receives the message from the control center and produces the response which reestablishes homeostasis It should be noticed that
1. the heat produced by the furnace shuts the furnace down through the thermostat.
2. the original stress is reduced, i.e., the room warms up.

Homeostatic mechanisms that show these two characteristics are operating by negative feedback

Homeostatic Regulation of Body Temperature through
Negative Feedback
Hyperthermia
Stress

Heat receptors in the skin

Stress is reduced shutting down mechanism Perspiration evaporates cooling the skin
Effect

Hypothalamus
Control Center

Sensors

Increased activity of sweat glands
Increased blood flow to the skin
Effectors

Homeostasis Using a Neural
Pathway

Control center

Many homeostatic mechanisms use a nerve pathway in which to produce their effects.
These pathways involve an

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Look at the data for your assigned challenge. Why did the “guinea pig’s” body react the way it did during the challenge? What was happening inside of the body that you couldn’t necessarily measure or see?…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    3. How do our bodies sometimes act like a thermostat? __When we are cold, we shiver to heat up and reach or equilibrium…

    • 1077 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fig.10.3 The structure of the skin. 3. When the body is exercising vigorously or when the surrounding is hot: 1) Thermoreceptors in the skin detect an increase in environmental temperature or heat sensors in the hypothalamus detect a rise in the temperature of the blood. 2) The sweat glands increase the production of sweat. 3) Vasodilation, increases the internal diameter of blood vessels so that more blood is brought to the capillaries. 4) Body loses heat as sweat evaporates. 5) Body loses heat as more blood is brought to the skin surface, leading to increased heat loss by conduction, convection and radiation. 6) Metabolic rate is lowered leading to the decreased heat production by cells. 7) Body temperature is lowered. 4. When the body is at rest or when the surrounding is cold: 1) Thermoreceptors in the skin detect decrease in the environmental temperature or heat sensors in the hypothalamus detect drop in temperature of blood. 2) The sweat glands stop production of sweat. 3) Vasoconstriction, reduces the internal diameter of blood vessels so that less blood is brought to the capillaries. 4) Body gains heat as erector muscles in the skin contract causing the hairs to stand up, creating a layer of air which will act as insulation. 5) Skeletal muscles contract and relax repeatedly; this shivering resulting in production of heat. 6) Less blood is brought to the skin surface…

    • 4975 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    study guide to A&P EXAM 1

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages

    With all of the activities going on in the organism, there must be guidelines and limits that the body must follow in order to preserve health. The body must maintain a STABLE INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT, even when external environment is changing. The term used to describe the body‟s ability to maintain these stable conditions is HOMEOSTASIS. ( Ex. thermostat and heater and temp regulation in the hypothalamus.)…

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bio100 Midterm Study Guide

    • 3431 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Homeostasis- The steady state of body functioning; the tendency to maintain relatively constant conditions in the internal environment even when the external environment changes. Homeostasis is dependent on negative feedback to give it signals to…

    • 3431 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In humans homeostasis happens when the body regulates its body temperature in an effort to maintain an internal temperature at around 37®C. For example, during the summer when the weather is very hot (outside condition) we sweat to cool ourselves down and in the winter when the weather is very cold (outside condition) we shiver…

    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    P5 M2 D2

    • 4801 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Homeostasis is simply how the body keeps conditions inside the same. It is described as the maintenance of a constant internal environment. Generally, the body is in homeostasis when its needs are met and it’s functioning properly. Every organ in the body contributes to homeostasis. A complex set of chemical, thermal, and neural factors interact in complex ways, both helping the body while it works to maintain homeostasis. In homeostasis there is the concept of Negative feedback which ensures that, in any control system, changes are reversed and returned back to the set level. There are four different homeostatic mechanisms for regulation these four are the heart rate, breathing rate, body temperature and blood glucose levels. Negative feedback system is made out of receptors to detect change, a control centre to receive the information and process the response and effectors to reverse the change and re-establish the original state. (Anatomy & Physiology, 2013)…

    • 4801 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Homeostasis is maintaining an Internal Balance. If we fail to maintain an internal balance every system inside of our body will be disrupted.…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Biol 101 Hw1

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Homeostasis is a term used to describe an internal environment being in a state of constant conditions, such as constant temperature, pH, and etc. It is important because staying at an equilibrium requires the least amount of energy and provides the perfect environment for desired reactions to occur. If at any given time, the equilibrium is disturbed and the homeostasis shifts, then internal environment becomes stressed and favored reactions do not take place. Blood pH is an example of homeostasis where the right concentration of carbon dioxide and oxygen exists using buffers exists to keep a favorable environment where it is not too acidic and not too basic. Another example is body temperature where the body has to maintain 37 degrees Celsius in order for majority of the enzymes in the body can function properly.…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Muscle Physiology

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In warm-blooded animals such as humans, body temperature must be maintained by various negative feedback reflex responses within the body.…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Homeostatic Imbalances

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hypertension is the term used to describe high blood pressure. Blood pressure is a measurement of the force against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood through your body. Blood pressure readings are usually given as two numbers -- for example, 120 over 80 (written as 120/80 mmHg). One or both of these numbers can be too high. The top number is called the systolic blood pressure, which is the force of blood in the arteries as the heart beats, and the bottom number is called the diastolic blood pressure which is the force of blood in the arteries as the heart relaxes between beats. When you blood pressure is a normal it’s lower than 120/80 mmHg most of the time. High blood pressure (hypertension) which is what you have is when the reading is at least 140/90 or higher. One negative feedback system that helps regulate in blood pressure with negative feedback system( homeostatic imbalance) is when the heart beats faster or harder, blood pressure increases. If a stimulus causes blood pressure to rise the following sequence of events occurs. Baroreceptors (the receptors) pressure-sensitive nerve cells located in the walls of certain blood vessel, detect the higher pressure. The baroreceptors send nerve impulses (input) to the brain (control center). The brain nerve impulses (output) to the heart and blood vessels (the effectors). Heart rate decreases and blood vessels dilate (widen), which cause blood pressure to decrease (response). The organ systems involved are the heart which creates one force as it pumps blood into the arteries and through the circulatory system. The other force comes from the arteries resisting the blood flow. Homeostatic regulation of blood pressure by a negative feedback system the response is fed back into the system, and the system continues to lower blood pressure until there is a return to normal blood pressure (homeostasis). A negative feedback system or loop reverses a change in a controlled…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    It produces heat as a waste product which can make a rise in our body temperature. In order to maintain homeostasis, the blood vessels in our skin dilate to allow more blood flow to the surface of our body removing heat and causing sweat glands in the skin to release more sweat. The evaporation of sweat and breathing out warm air also help to cool our body which will help to maintain a constant temperature.…

    • 1787 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Concept of Homeostasis

    • 17089 Words
    • 69 Pages

    ® keep it simple science Copying is permitted according to the Site Licence Conditions only HSC Biology Topic 1 MAINTAINING A BALANCE What is this topic about? To keep it as simple as possible, (K.I.S.S.) this topic involves the study of: 1.…

    • 17089 Words
    • 69 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Homeostasis is important in maintaining a healthy functioning of the body. Enzymes within the body are vitally responsible for speeding up chemical reactions and are often referred to as catalysts. In order to work at their optimum, enzymes need a specific constant temperature within the internal environment of the body to function correctly and reduce denaturing.…

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Theories of Biology

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Homeostasis is the property of either an open system or a closed system, especially a living organism; that regulates its internal environment so as to maintain a stable, constant condition.…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays