Homeostasis: A Case Study
The nervous system helps maintain homeostasis
Homeostatic control mechanisms have at least three interdependent components: a receptor, integrating center, and effector.
The receptor senses environmental stimuli, sending the information to the integrating center.
The integrating center, generally a region of the brain called the hypothalamus, signals an effector (e.g. muscles or an organ) to respond to the stimuli.
Positive feedback enhances or accelerates output created by an activated stimulus. Platelet aggregation and accumulation in response to injury is an example of positive feedback.
Negative feedback brings a system back to its level of normal functioning. Adjustments of blood pressure, metabolism, and body temperature are all negative …show more content…
Sebum and sweat make up the ‘surface film’.
The subcutaneous layer under the dermis is made up of connective tissue and fat (a good insulator) (Health and Safety Executive, no.date.).
Homeostasis depends on negative feedback loops. So, anything that interferes with the feedback mechanisms can—and usually will!—disrupt homeostasis. In the case of the human body, this may lead to disease.
Diabetes, for example, is a disease caused by a broken feedback loop involving the hormone insulin. The broken feedback loop makes it difficult or impossible for the body to bring high blood sugar down to a healthy level.
To appreciate how diabetes occurs, let's take a quick look at the basics of blood sugar regulation. In a healthy person, blood sugar levels are controlled by two hormones: insulin and glucagon.
Insulin decreases the concentration of glucose in the blood. After eating a meal, the blood glucose levels rise, triggering the secretion of insulin from β cells in the pancreas. Insulin acts as a signal that triggers cells of the body, such as fat and muscle cells, to take up glucose for use as fuel. Insulin also causes glucose to be converted into glycogen—a storage molecule—in the liver. Both processes pull sugar out of the blood, bringing blood sugar levels down, reducing insulin secretion, and returning the whole system to homeostasis (Khan Academy, …show more content…
This causes decrease in oxygen saturation. Both of are undesirable conditions thus necessary for the removal of co2/metabolic waste from living cells to ensure correct cellular process. Metabolic waste is toxic to cell and its
Homeostatic control mechanisms have at least three interdependent components: a receptor, integrating center, and effector.
The receptor senses environmental stimuli, sending the information to the integrating center.
The integrating center, generally a region of the brain called the hypothalamus, signals an effector (e.g. muscles or an organ) to respond to the stimuli.
Positive feedback enhances or accelerates output created by an activated stimulus. Platelet aggregation and accumulation in response to injury is an example of positive feedback.
Negative feedback brings a system back to its level of normal functioning. Adjustments of blood pressure, metabolism, and body temperature are all negative …show more content…
Sebum and sweat make up the ‘surface film’.
The subcutaneous layer under the dermis is made up of connective tissue and fat (a good insulator) (Health and Safety Executive, no.date.).
Homeostasis depends on negative feedback loops. So, anything that interferes with the feedback mechanisms can—and usually will!—disrupt homeostasis. In the case of the human body, this may lead to disease.
Diabetes, for example, is a disease caused by a broken feedback loop involving the hormone insulin. The broken feedback loop makes it difficult or impossible for the body to bring high blood sugar down to a healthy level.
To appreciate how diabetes occurs, let's take a quick look at the basics of blood sugar regulation. In a healthy person, blood sugar levels are controlled by two hormones: insulin and glucagon.
Insulin decreases the concentration of glucose in the blood. After eating a meal, the blood glucose levels rise, triggering the secretion of insulin from β cells in the pancreas. Insulin acts as a signal that triggers cells of the body, such as fat and muscle cells, to take up glucose for use as fuel. Insulin also causes glucose to be converted into glycogen—a storage molecule—in the liver. Both processes pull sugar out of the blood, bringing blood sugar levels down, reducing insulin secretion, and returning the whole system to homeostasis (Khan Academy, …show more content…
This causes decrease in oxygen saturation. Both of are undesirable conditions thus necessary for the removal of co2/metabolic waste from living cells to ensure correct cellular process. Metabolic waste is toxic to cell and its