Preview

Homeostasis: A Case Study

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1246 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Homeostasis: A Case Study
In 1865 French physiologist, Claude Bernard, defined homeostasis as the control of internal conditions within living organisms, for example temperature. The external environment can change at any time therefore the human body must uphold a constant internal environment for cells, organs and tissues to continue to operate (Hall, 2010).

The homeostatic regulation is the changing physiological systems inside the body (Tortora, 2009).
Figure 1 below shows the three mechanisms of homeostatic regulation are the receptor, the control center and the effector (Martini, 2007). The receptor detects that something is changing in the environment, the control center receives and processes information from the receptor and the effector produces a response
…show more content…
1981). The heart and brain are most delicate to cold; therefore the electrical action in these organs slows down in response to the cold. Moreover, as the body temperature lowers, organs start to fall flat and clinical intervention is required.

There are some humans that are more prone to developing hypothermia, for example, if the person were underweight; they would have a lack of tissue mass.
Those undergoing surgery and having a merged general and spinal anesthesia are also at greater risk of developing hypothermia (Welch, 2002).
Other causes of hypothermia include metabolic issues that are connected to a diminished basal metabolic rate. This can be identified with dysfunction of the thyroid, pituitary glands or adrenal (Dimopoulou et al. 2014).

The mechanisms for warmth creation and warmth preservation are activated when the human body naturally responds to cold, for example, through shivering of constriction of blood vessels in the skin and expanded metabolic action to produce energy (Hatfield 1996 and Marieb,
…show more content…
In more moderate hypothermia cases, some symptoms incorporate; uncontrollable shivering, confusion, loss of motor skills, moderate breathing rate, cognitive troubles and sleepiness (Tipton and Mike 2014).
Furthermore, in extremely severe cases of hypothermia, symptoms incorporate; unconsciousness, dilated pupils and frail heartbeat, cardio-respiratory arrest, very moderate breathing rate, loss of gross motor abilities and discontinuance of shivering. Cyanosis might likewise be unmistakable in view of the absence of blood to the layers of the skin.

The treatments available vary in accordance to the degree of hypothermia. They range from noninvasive, passive external warming, to active external warming and active core rewarming which requires clinical intervention (McCullough et al. 2004).
Passive external warming is when an individual generate warmth from insulated dry clothing or going to a warm environment (Havenithet al. 2008). Active external warming comprises of applying hot water bottles in both armpits or by going in to a tub with hot water of approximately 44 degrees Celsius, and place both arms and legs outside of the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Hypothermia is a dysfunction of the hypothalamus and occurs when more heat is lost than the body can generate.…

    • 925 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Homeostasis is the need for an organism or a cell to regulate its internal environment (conditions within the fluid surrounding its body cells) by a system of feedback controls to stabilise health and functioning despite the outside changing conditions. This is important as this is what maintains and helps internal conditions (body temperature) to remain stable and constant.…

    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    anatomy task3 p5,m2,d2

    • 1339 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Core temperature rises, drop detected by hypothalamus. Brain sends signals to the body that brings out shivering and vasoconstriction. Temperature turns to normal.…

    • 1339 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cold Therapy

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Hypothermia related to immersion in cold water as evidenced by muscle rigidity and shivering. (411)…

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gold Fish Lab Report

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Wood, Stephen C. 1991. Interactions Between Hypoxia and Hypothermia. Annual Reviews Inc., Albuquerque, NM, USA.…

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better 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

    Anatomy D2

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Also, if the persons temperature was to fall too low and not be brought back to normal by homeostasis, the person would result in hypothermia, also causing the body’s cells to be destroyed as they cannot survive under body temperature lower than 37 degrees, as well as the body’s enzymes to be destroyed as they also require normal body temperature to function, again resulting in death. Hypothermia is a state where the body's normal body temperature of 37°C (98.6°F) drops below 35° (95°F). When the body is exposed to cold the mechanisms are unable to fill in heat that is lost to organisms surroundings. Hypothermia is caused normally when a person is around a cold environment or staying outside for a long period of time in the cold rain or wind. When the body gets too cold it usually acts fast in order to become warm and giving a message to the brain allowing the person to wear more layers of clothing or going inside. However during hypothermia if the cold tends to continue the body's automatic defense will try to prevent any heat loss through various ways and this could be through:…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    By this statement I here confirm that the work produced within this document is my own work with guided references from the references stated below within this assignment.…

    • 1262 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    P5. Homeostasis is the process by which a constant internal environment is maintained by our body. For instance, this means that in our body, temperature, blood sugar levels, etc must be kept within a narrow range even when we are in a freezing climate, or while doing vigorous exercise etc. All homeostatic control mechanisms have at least three interdependent components which are: The receptor responds to changes in the environment, for example, detects temperature change. Then, after the receptor senses a stimuli, it sends information to a ‘’control centre’’ to regulate the response. The control centre which is in the brain decides a response to the stimuli. Then, the control centre sends signals to an effector such as muscles and organs. Negative feedback is a control system that occurs when an important variable such as pH of blood deviates from the certain limits which can cause reactions that will turn variable into a normal range. For e.g.…

    • 1787 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hyperthermia, which I hope you have gathered from the information given above is the complete opposite of hypothermia however both condition are very serious and in some cases life threatening.…

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Malignant Hyperthermia (MH) is a rare, life threatening, pharmacogenetic disorder characterized by hypermetabolic state of skeletal muscle induced by inhalation anesthetics like halothane, sevoflurane, desflurane and the depolarizing muscle relaxant agent like succinylcholine (Rosenberg et al, 2007). Clinical signs are; Increased end tidal CO2 production which is an early sign, tachycardia, tachypnea, trunk or total body rigidity, masseter (jaw) muscle rigidity after succinylcholine which occurs commonly in children, marked temperature elevation (maybe a late sign), respiratory and metabolic acidosis, myoglobinuria(MHAUS, 2011). If left untreated the patient will experience cardiac arrest, kidney failure, blood coagulation problems, internal hemorrhage, and possibly death (slideshare, 2010)…

    • 1195 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Homeostasis In Biology

    • 2110 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Homeostasis is the ability of an open system to regulate its internal environment to maintain stable conditions by means of multiple dynamic equilibrium adjustments controlled by interrelated regulation mechanisms. All living organisms, whether unicellular or multicellular, exhibit homeostasis.[35]…

    • 2110 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mr Smallwood

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages

    McDonalds and Starbucks have invested heavily in developing their brand names and marketing initiatives domestically and internationally. While they both have experienced growing pains, they have also enjoyed the sweet successes learned from each other. While best practices were not always the “buzz word” for some organizations over the years, they did learn from each other in their way. However, like any other business, they may not want to admit that there were lessons learned and practices realized by other businesses which helped them to grow and thrive in various markets. Please take a moment and think about the following question as you prepare to research and write the assignment for this week. How do you think McDonalds and Starbucks were able to establish their brands to fit local markets through architectural design of the stores, their e-commerce strategies and service to accommodate the local markets and culture? 1. Please explain their approaches individually and determine if there are any differences or similarities. 2. Do you think Starbucks benefitted from the missteps by McDonalds that you will read about in your research? 3. You should use reference material from course readings and outside sources when needed to strengthen your argument Complete your answers in a Word document with APA formatting and submit Assignment 3 by midnight, Day 7.…

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Abraham Lincoln, who was the president of the United States during that time had a very difficult period. America was in a position of civil war and the country was nearly separated. Lincoln one of his famous speech the Gettysburg address he shows his real destiny, thoughts, and plans that will be accomplished. Throughout his speech he Cleary says what the country was is and what his hopes and dreams for the future were. When the united states were established, it was founded on a very famous truth, that “all men are created equal.” Lincoln believe that America is founded on this idea because everyone was tired of the cruelty. Abraham Lincoln wanted equal rights for every citizen of the U.S. He was against slavery that shouldn’t expand into…

    • 197 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Case Study 1

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The treatments of methodologies for hyperthermia that were used in this case study was to apply cold wash cloth to forehead and face,…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays