Homeostasis: Balance Or Equilibrium In Different Internal Areas Of The Body
Homeostasis report 3.4
The Purpose of the Homeostatic System
Homeostasis is a process that ensures the balance or equilibrium in different internal areas of the body. It’s vital that the human body maintains this balance state as significant fluctuations could cause a severe effect on the body.
All homeostasis systems are negative feedbacks, “a regulatory mechanism in which a ‘stimulus’ causes an opposite ‘output’ in order to maintain an ideal level of whatever is being regulated”, meaning if the sensor detects unwanted changes, then it sends messages to counteract those changes, which is opposite to a positive feedback, in which the sensor sends messages throughout the body to continue doing more of whatever it’s doing, e.g. childbirth.
An …show more content…
In this case, the sensor for the Homeostatic System is the pancreas. The second component is the controller or control system, which is responsible for interpreting information given by the sensor and initiates any actions needed. Finally, the effector is an organ or tissue that receives the message from the control system and acts towards decreasing the change, and in glucose regulation, one of the main effectors is the liver, however there can be multiple …show more content…
One of these glands is the pancreas, which contains a group of cells which include alpha and beta cells that each secrete a specific hormone that contributes to the Homeostatic System. The sensor detects increase in blood glucose level above the set point of 5mM and secrete the hormone insulin, a chemical messenger that travels through the blood vessels. When there is an increase in blood glucose levels, the beta cells found in the pancreas are the ones which secrete insulin. Although the body cells such as fat cells act as an effector and absorb some of the glucose as the cell membranes become more permeable (more porous), enabling the absorption, the majority of the glucose goes to the liver and gets stored as glycogen for future use. The liver has enough stored to provide energy to the body for 2-3 days. Once blood glucose is back down to the set point of 5mM, the beta cells instantly stop producing insulin. This reaction can be compared with a person hitting a tennis ball thrown at them. Once they hit it, they won’t continue the “hitting”
The Purpose of the Homeostatic System
Homeostasis is a process that ensures the balance or equilibrium in different internal areas of the body. It’s vital that the human body maintains this balance state as significant fluctuations could cause a severe effect on the body.
All homeostasis systems are negative feedbacks, “a regulatory mechanism in which a ‘stimulus’ causes an opposite ‘output’ in order to maintain an ideal level of whatever is being regulated”, meaning if the sensor detects unwanted changes, then it sends messages to counteract those changes, which is opposite to a positive feedback, in which the sensor sends messages throughout the body to continue doing more of whatever it’s doing, e.g. childbirth.
An …show more content…
In this case, the sensor for the Homeostatic System is the pancreas. The second component is the controller or control system, which is responsible for interpreting information given by the sensor and initiates any actions needed. Finally, the effector is an organ or tissue that receives the message from the control system and acts towards decreasing the change, and in glucose regulation, one of the main effectors is the liver, however there can be multiple …show more content…
One of these glands is the pancreas, which contains a group of cells which include alpha and beta cells that each secrete a specific hormone that contributes to the Homeostatic System. The sensor detects increase in blood glucose level above the set point of 5mM and secrete the hormone insulin, a chemical messenger that travels through the blood vessels. When there is an increase in blood glucose levels, the beta cells found in the pancreas are the ones which secrete insulin. Although the body cells such as fat cells act as an effector and absorb some of the glucose as the cell membranes become more permeable (more porous), enabling the absorption, the majority of the glucose goes to the liver and gets stored as glycogen for future use. The liver has enough stored to provide energy to the body for 2-3 days. Once blood glucose is back down to the set point of 5mM, the beta cells instantly stop producing insulin. This reaction can be compared with a person hitting a tennis ball thrown at them. Once they hit it, they won’t continue the “hitting”