Homeostasis: Equilibrium In The Human Body

Homeostasis is a state of equilibrium that tends to be a main goal in many scenarios in living organisms, including those within the body. One of which includes the human body temperature which usually is around approximately thirty-seven degrees celsius or ninety-eight and six tenths degrees fahrenheit. This temperature is ideal for the human body because at this temperature it is not too warm as to where the body would have to continually eat and take in nutrients in order to maintain it’s metabolism but it is warm enough to prevent fungal infections. In order to maintain this perfect temperature, the human body has a negative feedback loop system for when the temperature increases or decreases which allows for the return to homeostasis.
The loop first begins when the thermoreceptors, which are located right below the epidermis, receive the signal from the external stimuli. These thermoreceptors are nerve cells that are specialized to be able to recognize changes and shifts in the external temperature in order to adjust the body’s internal temperature. So, once the stimuli is detected and received, the signal is passed along the central neural pathways including the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Once it reaches the spinal cord, it then travels up the lateral spinothalamic tract eventually leading to the thalamus in the brain. In addition to the previous movement, secondary thermoreceptor fibers are also affecting the primary sensory cortex as well as the reticular activating system simultaneously. Finally, the signal reaches the thermostat in the hypothalamus which is a region within the forebrain, located right below the thalamus, that is in charge of the autonomic nervous system. Also, the autonomic nervous system is in charge of the involuntary response within the human body. Once the signal is registered by the brain, it then activates the cooling mechanisms. In order to reduce the body’s rising temperature, the skin blood vessels dilate, the capillaries fill with warm blood, and heat radiates through the surface. In addition, the sweat glands are utilized in order to increase
The shift is detected by the thermoreceptors and is passed along the same way as with a temperature increase until it finally reaches the hypothalamus in the brain which is also in charge of the pituitary activity, hunger, thirst, and other homeostatic systems, along with emotional activity and sleep. From this point, the brain sends a signal to activate the warming mechanisms for the human body. In order to increase the temperature of the body, the skin blood vessels constrict which diverts blood from the skin to deeper skin tissues in order to reduce heat loss from the surface of the skin. Also, the skeletal muscles are activated causing them to begin to shake and shiver thus allowing for heat to be created. Then, the body will begin to heat up allowing for it to return to the temperature that is considered to be in homeostasis causing the warming mechanisms to be turned