MONIQUE MAVRONICOLAS - HOMEOSTASIS

Homeostasis
Homeostasis is important for physiology and anatomy of the body, creating a stable
internal environment for our bodies to be able to live. The cells in our bodies require
nutrients, oxygen, water and a stable internal environment to survive. Changes to
our internal environment can be harmful to our bodies. Our bodies have the ability to
respond to internal and external changes to maintain a balance within our cells and
organs.
Essentially all our organs and tissues within our bodies assist to maintain the internal
environment a process known as homeostasis. Many physiological state of
homeostasis is controlled by the brain, as it takes control of the regulation without us
even knowing through automatic mechanisms. The hypothalamus and the pituitary
gland work in conjunction and together they form the main control function in
homeostasis.
When thinking of the homeostasis, one can think of it as a very intricate balancing
act. The following steps indicate a generalisation of how the body communicates to
maintain homeostasis:
Stimulus creates a alteration to the element that is being regulated
Receptor monitors the environment and senses the change by the stimulus
and responds
Input information from the receptor then travels along the afferent pathway
(carry nerve impulses into the central nervous system) to the centre of control
and decides a suitable response and corrective course of action.
Output the information that was sent with regards to the suitable response
now travels from the control centre down the efferent pathway (carry nerve
impulses away from the central nervous system) to the effector (muscles and
glands).
Response the response from the effector will now balance the original
stimulus out to achieve homeostasis again
The table below indicates some types of homeostatic regulation in the body
(http://opencurriculum.org/5385/homeostasis-and-regulation-in-the-human-body/)
Hormones
Homeostatic Processes and Other
Messengers

Osmoregulation
(also known as
excretions)

Excess water, salts, and

urea expelled from body

Thermoregulation Sweating, shivering,

dilation/constriction of

Tissues, Organs
and Organ
Systems Involved

Antidiuretic
hormone
(ADH),
aldosterone,
angiotensin II,
carbon dioxide

Kidneys, urinary
bladder, ureters,
urethra (urinary
system), pituitary
gland (endocrine
system), lungs
(respiratory
system)

Nerve
Impulses

Skeletal muscle
(muscular system),

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Chemical
Regulation
(including
glucoregulation)

blood vessels at skin

surface, insulation by
adipose tissue,
breakdown of adipose
tissue to produce heat

nerves (nervous
system), blood
vessels
(cardiovascular
system), skin and
adipose tissue
(integumentary
system),
hypothalamus
(endocrine system)

Release of insulin and

glucagon into the blood in
response to rising and
falling blood glucose
levels, respectively;
increase in breathing rate
in response to increases
carbon dioxide levels in
the blood, and release of
carbon dioxide into
exhaled air from lungs,
secretion of
erythropoietin by kidneys
to stimulate formation of
red blood cells

Pancreas
(endocrine
system), liver
(digestive system);
adrenal glands
(endocrine system)
lungs (respiratory
system), brain
(nervous system),
kidneys (urinary
system)

Insulin,
glucagon,
cortisol,
carbon
dioxide, nerve
impulses,
erythropoietin
(EPO)

Feedback regulation loops is the pathway homeostasis relies on, a negative

feedback mechanisms to assist the body in maintaining its conditions within specific
limits. In order to do this, the body reacts by opposing a change that differs from the
norm. Whereas a positive feedback mechanism is the precise opposite of a negative
feedback mechanism. Negative feedback is when the output reduces the new effect
of the stimulus. Within a positive feedback system, the output enhances the new
stimulus.
There is a dynamic equilibrium in homeostasis, suggesting that conditions are not
identical at all times, but fluctuate within an acceptable range. When we excise our
blood glucose levels might go down and when we eat our blood glucose level might
go up but the regulation mechanism kicks in and keeps the parameter within the
acceptable range. Same with body temperature, when we exercise our body
temperature might go slightly and similar to when we go to sleep at night our body
temperature drops slightly but the fluctuation of this is still in an acceptable range
and thats why we call homeostasis a dynamic equilibrium.
Temperature regulation
Humans are homoeothermic, being able to control our body temperature to a certain
extent to around 37.5 degrees centigrade despite temperature of our surroundings or
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from the heat we generate for ourselves through exercise and internal chemical
reactions. Our ability to thermoregulate temperature happens through our own
voluntary actions and through the automatic mechanisms of the body. Our skin
contains temperature senses that senses external temperature, either hot or cold
and this leads to the appropriate actions. When temperature rises, causing the rate
of the chemical reaction in our cells and could even threaten their structure by
destroying the proteins in the cell membrane.
When there is a rise in temperature (someone sitting in a steam room) the body
needs to protect its insides from becoming as hot as the outsides. The hypothalamus
is like the bodys own thermostat, measuring the temperature of the blood flowing
through it. When temperature rises the hypothalamus responds with corrective
action, by sending a signal to the sweat glands to work overtime by producing sweat,
which evaporates, cooling the skin and the blood flowing through it.
Other responses to temperature change is visible to the naked eye, an example is
shivering, when we shiver, the rapid contractions of our muscles generate heat. The
covering of hair over our bodies also assists with temperature control. When
piloerection occurs we get a visual result of cutis anserine (horripilation) and at the
same time, corrective processes take place beneath the surface of the skin. When it
is cold outside the body responds by reducing heat loss through a process called
vasoconstriction, when the blood vessels in the dermis narrows.
There is a limit of how much heat variation our bodies can control, when the core
temperature of our body drops below 35 degrees centigrade (hikers getting stuck in
an avalanche waiting for a rescue team), most of the chemical processes slows
down and the body starts the process of hypothermia. Should the bodys core drop
below 29 degree centigrade the function of the automatic temperature regulation
through the hypothalamus is lost. Should this happen the body is no longer in
homeostasis and the body starts cooling down to match the external temperature.
Should the bodys core drop below 25 degrees centigrade, death is likely to occur.
The diagram below indicates how body temperature by maintaining homeostasis.

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Blood sugar levels

Our cells need blood glucose to function correctly and for cell respiration. The ideal
ratio of blood glucose for the body is between 80mg 90mg per 100 cubic
centimetres. When we eat allot of simple carbohydrates, blood glucose rises and
negative feedback sets in and the process start restoring blood glucose levels within
about 2 hours. Similar with the revers, if the blood sugar level fall to low the process
will start to restore the ideal ration to normal. The pancreas has receptors that detect
the rise in blooeedd glucose, when this happens, the pancreas then releases insulin
into the blood. Insulin, a hormone, which is release in response to blood sugar levels
travels in the bloodstream to all tissue with a particular focus on the liver and the
muscles. It sets about removing the sugars from the blood in two different ways; by
either converting glucose into glycogen in the liver and by promoting the optic of
glucose by muscles for cell respiration. This results in the glucose leaving the
bloodstream and the blood glucose levels falls. As mentioned earlier, the reverse is
also possible, when someone decides to diet and is not getting eating enough, blood
sugar levels can fall. Again the pancreas receptors will detect the fall in blood
glucose but this time it will release another hormone is release called glucagon.
Glucagon then increases the amount of glucose in the blood by activating enzymes
in the tissues, especially the liver and the muscles. It converts the glycogen back to
glucose, where the glucose passes out of the tissue and into the bloodstream.
The diagram below represents how the endocrine system controls the regulation of
blood sugar levels in our body to maintain homeostasis.

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Osmoregulation
This process takes place in the kidneys and is controlled by an anti-diuretic hormone
(ADH). Like most homeostasis mechanisms, the maintenance of water balance
requires negative feedback. When the body is short of water, the salt concentration
within the blood is high, osmoreceptor cells (found within the thalamus) detect the
high salt concentrations. The hypothalamus then responds in two ways, by
stimulating the thirst censors in the brain and then it stimulates the pituitary gland,
enabling the secretion of ADH into the blood, which is carried to the kidneys. The
kidneys then filter the blood and regulates its water content.
Osmoregulation is basically keeping osmolality (concentration of substances such as
sodium, potassium, chloride, glucose and urea) in our blood the same. Alcohol has a
huge impact on this as it disturbs the homeostasis of water regulation. Alcohol is a
diuretic and is the opposite of anti-diuretics that we require for homeostasis. When
we drink too much alcohol it makes us produce a lot more urine and due to the
diuretic the consequences are extremely concentrated blood.
The kidney filters blood and regulates osmolality. As blood enter the glomerulus and
the small little bits are filtered out and enters the filtrate, down the loop of Henley,
through the collecting ducts and eventually enters into the bladder. So basically
osmoregulation is the process in which the systems decides whether it has enough
water in the body, if so, it can let some of it go through urination, however, if we dont
have enough water we are going to keep, So we can regulate how permeable this is
to water and so we can osmoregulate.
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The diagram below indicates how the endocrine system controls our blood
osmolarity enabling homeostasis.

Calcuim homeostasis
Calcium homeostasis in extracellular and cellular fluids is essential to normal
function of a different processes within the body. Calcium homeostasis is the
regulation of the number of calcium ions in the extracellular fluid. The importance of
calcium homeostasis lies within the amount of calcium that is absorbed by the gut.
We lose some of our calcium through sweat, urine and fasces but at the same time
the gut compensates for those losses. Replacing the calcium lost through excretion,
we require a new source which is our bones. The resorption in our bones protect us
against the majority of extracellular fluid calcium depletion. But taking calcium
continuously from the bones could lead to the degradation of the bone and
eventually lead to osteoporosis. Another example might include people with
tuberculosis, which causes the level of vitamin D within the body to increase. With
increased vitamin D levels it enables more absorption within the body which allows
for the increase in calcium in the blood. This will increase the extracellular fluid and
cause hypercalcemia and voltage-gated ion channels don't open as easily. This will
in turn cause a depressed nervous system which could lead to more imbalances.
The diagram below explains the complex process of calcium homeostasis.
The rise in calcium in the blood due to the greater absorption of calcium. The thyroid
gland receives the information and releases a hormone calcitonin. This travels to the
kidneys to reduce the output of calcium and to the bones to stimulate calcium ions
deposition in the bones. The response from the effector would have reduced the
calcium ions and the levels of calcium would have declined to a set point balancing
the original stimulus out to achieve homeostasis again. The opposite happens with
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the low intake of

calcium as depicted in
the image and
suggested in the
paragraph above.
Regulation of
Carbon Dioxide in
the blood
In respiration (in
breathing and
gaseous exchange)
one has two
molecules involved,
oxygen and carbon
dioxide and the
relation between
these two molecules
are regulated in the
blood as a
homeostatic
mechanism through
negative feedback.
When we breathe in,
the O2 vs CO2 ration
is more or less 20:1,
however when we
breathe out the gas
mixture this ratio changes to almost 9:2. This means that we are able to administer
CPR to other people.
Gaseous exchange happens through diffusion (gas diffuse though membranes
passively) and as a consequence of this, we have two ways of getting the oxygen to
our blood and the rate of how we expel the carbon dioxide from our blood. We could
either make the heart pump faster that will increase the blood flow and speed up the
process or we could breathe faster by using our muscles. By combining the two we
could get oxygen into our blood faster and carbon dioxide out of our blood faster.
The body requires oxygen to survive but it is the carbon dioxide that controls the
homeostatic mechanisms with respect to gaseous exchange.
When someone does physical activities they increase the cellular respiration and
they produce more carbon dioxide (as its a by-product of cellular respiration). The
medulla oblongata detects the change and is stimulated and sends impulses to the
heart telling it to beat faster but at the same time its sends a message to the
breathing musculature telling it to breathe faster. The heart starts beating faster and
blood with CO2 travels faster to the lungs and the lungs start breathing faster
allowing the blood that has travelled more rapidly to the lungs to be exhaled more
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rapidly. This leads to the CO2 level dropping and homeostasis is once again
achieved.
The below image reflects the above description. (www.active learning.com)

Stress and Homeostasis

When we experience stress the responses threatens homeostasis that is facilitated
by the stress system. The dominant and peripheral effectors of this system regulates
the cognitive function within the brain affecting many systems that include;

Reward and fear systems

Sleep and awake systems
Growth and Reproductive systems
Influences the gastrointestinal, metabolic and cardiorespiratory systems
Immune system

When we there is constant imbalance in the systems above through the stress
system this might lead to various acute and chronic diseases. Unfortunately our
behaviour and external environment is often very accommodating to stress and the
related disorders.
The diagram below indicates various possible effects on the body and how it
influences and responses in homeostasis.

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References
Maintaining stable body conditions available at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/znc6fg8/revision accessed on 3 June 2015
Osmoregulation available at http://purchon.com/biology/?page_id=170 accessed on
4 June 2015
Homeostasis: positive and negative feedback mechanisms available at
http://anatomyandphysiologyi.com/homeostasis-positivenegative-feedbackmechanisms/ accessed on 3 June 2015
Homeostasis and Hormones available at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/ocr_gateway_pre_2011/ourselves
/5_staying_in_balance1.shtml accessed on 3 June 2015
5 Common examples of homeostasis in the body available at
http://www.brighthub.com/science/medical/articles/112024.aspx accessed on 4 June
2015
Calcium Homeostasis available at http://www.healthline.com/health/hypercalcemia
accessed on 4 June 2015
What is Hypercalcemia available at http://www.healthline.com/health/hypercalcemia
accessed on 4 June 2015
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Homeostasis and regulation in the human body available at

http://opencurriculum.org/5385/homeostasis-and-regulation-in-the-human-body/
accessed on June 2015
Concepts of stress on homeostasis available at
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/704866_2 accessed on 4 June 2015

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