Homeostasis: Anatomy and Physiology

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1 Homeostasis: Anatomy and Physiology

Homeostasis is a crucial body function. It enables the body to maintain a stable internal state despite the constant changes outside the body. This facilitates survival. If the body were affected by every condition outside the body, the fluctuations would cause the body organs to fail, eventually causing death. Homeostatic symptoms function by detecting which parts of the body are in distress. The nervous system sends these messages to the control center which then directs muscles and glands to perform corrective action to regulate the conditions. Homeostatic systems are responsible for the regulation of body temperature, levels of chemicals within the body and the ratio of water to mineral. The primary components behind a homeostatic response are the sensors, the integrating center and effectors.

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2 The body maintains homeostasis by triggering negative feedback loops. Negative feedback loops alert the body when it is out of sync. For instance, when one drink a glass of sugary juice, the level of blood glucose increases. The change in blood glucose level is detected by a receptor which in turn alerts the pancreatic beta cells. This is followed by a release of the insulin hormone into the body system to remove the excess glucose from the body. It is the function of the homeostatic system to detect and correct the change. On a hot day, the body temperature would be too high but the homeostatic system controls it. The change in body temperature is detected by sensors, which relays the message that the temperature is too high to the control center in the brain which is responsible for temperature regulation. The control center responds to the distress call by activating the sweat glands to release sweat, which cools down the body. Homeostasis is, therefore, crucial to the body.

Reference Jaiswal, M.J. (2017). The Role of Mitochondria, Oxidative Stress and Altered Calcium Homeostasis in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: From Current Developments in the Laboratory to Clinical Treatments. Frontiers Media SA.


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