homeostasis Flashcards
(30 cards)
what is homeostatis
the regulation of conditions inside your body (and cells ) to maintain a stable internal environment in response to changes in both internal and external conditions.
why do conditions inside your body need to be kept steady?
your cells need the right conditions for enzyme action even when the external environment changes
how do you regulate your internal environment
through automatic control systems that include nervous and hormonal communication e.g. control systems that maintain your body temperature, blood glucose level and water content
what are your automatic control systems made up of
3 main components- receptors, coordination centres (brain. spinal chord and pancreas) and effectors
what is negative feedback
your automatic control systems keep your internal environment stable using a mechanism called negative feedback . when the level of something (e.g. water or temperature ) gets too high or low , your body uses negative feedback to bring it back to normal
what is a sitmulus
a change in the environment
what happens in negative feedback when the receptor detects a stimulus where the level is too high/low
the coordination centre receives and processes the info ,organises response, effector produces a response, this counteracts change and restores optium level, the level then decreases/ increases-
effectors carry on producing responses as long as theyre stimulated by the coordination centre , receptor detects when level becomes to different and negative feedback starts again
How do organisms respond to th environment
organisms need to respond to stimuli in order to survive. single celled organisms just need to respond to environment, (cells of multicellular organisms need to communicate with each other first- theyve developed nervous and hormonal communication systems)
what does the nervous system allow humans to do
allows them to react to their surroundings and coordinate their behaviour by detecting and reacting to stimuli
what are the parts of the nervous system
central nervous system, sensory neurones, motor neurones, effectors
what is the central nervous system
cns- in vertebrates (animals with backbones) this consists of brain and spinal chord only . in mammals the cns is connected to the body by sensory neuronoes and motor neurones
sensory neurones?
neurones that carry information as electrical impulses from the receptors to the cns - you can find it in your arm
motor neurones?
the neurones that carry electricla impulses from the cns to effectors (e.g. thigh)
effectors?
all your muscles and glands which respond to nervous impulses (knee) and bring about a change
receptors
cells that detect stimuli
examples of types of receptors
taste receptors on the tongue and sound receptors in the ears
what can receptors form
large complex organs e.g the retina of eye is covered in light receptor cels
why are muscles and glands known as effectors
they respond in different ways, muslces contract in response to a nervous impulse whereas glands secrete hormones
why is cns known as a coordination centre
it receives info from receptors and then coordinates a response - this response is carried out by the effectors
example of cns
1- bird eats seed, bird spots cat coming near it (this is stimulus)
2- receptors in birds eye are stimulated, sensory neurones carry info from receptors to cns, cns decides what to do, cns sends info to muscles on birds wings(effectors) along motor neurons - muscles contract and bird flies away to safety
function of neurones
neurones transmit info very quickly to and from the brain , brain quickly decides how to respond to the stimulus
what is a synapse
connection between 2 neurones , synapses connect neurones, nerve signal is transferred by chemicals whichdiffuse across the gap, these chemicals then set off a new electrical signal in the next neurone
how do reflexes help to prevent injury
they are rapid , automatic repsponses to certain stiuml that dont invlove the conscious part of the brain, reduce the chances of being injured e.g. if someone shines a bright light in your eyes, pupils get smaller so less light enters eye to prevent damage
OR if you get a shock , body release the hormone adrenaline automatically
reflex arc
the passage of information in a reflex - from receptor to effector- caled reflex arc