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12
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to: Explain the concept of homeostasis and the negative feedback loop; Summarise the regulation of blood sugar levels and the hormones and mechanisms involved in this; Describe the structure and mechanism of action of the human kidney and discuss its role in osmoregulation; Explain the mechanism of nerve impulse transmission; Summarise the process of synaptic transmission; Describe the reproductive systems of a human male and female; and Explain the hormonal regulation of the human menstrual cycle.
INTRODUCTION
The previous topic has introduced you to animal physiology. This topic covers the second part of animal physiology which discusses the topic homeostasis, including the urinary, nervous and reproductive systems.
12.1
HOMEOSTASIS
We learnt in chemistry that matter tends to assume its lowest energy state. It tends to change towards high entropy by changing from an ordered state to a disordered state. The survival of organisms depends on the ability to overcome this tendency to disorderliness by remaining stable. By bathing cells in a fluid whose composition remains constant, the chemical reactions within these cells can take place at a predictable rate. The cells will be able to survive and function efficiently and the whole organisms can become more independent of its environment. All living things are able to control their internal conditions so that their cells have a constant chemical and physical environment in which they can function effectively. This regulation and maintenance of a relatively constant set of conditions within an organism is called homeostasis. It is a feature of all living systems, from single cell to the whole biosphere.
TOPIC 12
HOMEOSTASIS