Unit 3.7 - Homeostasis and the kidney Flashcards
(342 cards)
Homeostasis
The maintenance of a constant internal environment by negative feedback
What does homeostasis prevent?
Wild fluctuations beyond the optimal range
What does homeostasis allow to happen?
Cells and metabolism can function efficiently
Give some examples of factors that are maintained by homeostasis
Core body temperature
pH
Water potential of blood and body fluids
What should a human’s core body temperature be?
Approximately 37 degrees Celsius
What could happen to some of the factors that have an optimal level in our body and when?
May change due to changes in our activity or external environment
Does homeostasis keep factors at the optimal level all of the time?
The factors fluctuate about the set point
Explain the homeostatic mechanism that occurs when we exercise
Core body temperature rises
The body responds to bring the temperature down again by producing sweat which evaporated from the skin and uses energy to cool us down
What is the production of sweat when we’re hot an example of?
A homeostatic mechanism
What happens if our core body temperature gets too high?
Denatured enzymes
What happens if our core body temperature gets too low?
Metabolic reactions don’t happen fast enough, so metabolic processes in cells can’t be maintained
In what condition is the body kept during homeostasis?
Dynamic equilibrium
Why is the body described to be kept in “dynamic equilibrium”?
Constant changes occur but corrective mechanisms bring the internal environmental conditions back towards a set point
How are internal environmental conditions brought back towards a set point when changes occur?
Corrective mechanisms
Which system controls homeostatic responses?
The endocrine system
How does the endocrine system control homeostatic responses?
With hormones operating by negative feedback
What are the 4 stages involved in negative feedback?
Stimulus
Receptor
Co-ordination
Effector
Explain the negative feedback system for when the body temperature exceeds 37 degrees Celsius
Stimulus = body temperature exceeds 37 degrees Celsius
Receptor = nerve cells in skin and brain
Co-ordinator = temperature regulatory center in brain
Effector = sweat glands throughout the body
What does a receptor do during negative feedback?
Detects a deviation from the set point in the internal environment
What does a receptor do during negative feedback?
Sends instructions to the co-ordinator or controller
What does a co-ordinator or controller do during negative feedback?
Communicates with one or more effectors which make responses which are corrective
How does a co-ordinator communicate with effectors during negative feedback?
By hormones circulating in the blood or nerve impulse
Name for the “normal conditions” achieved by homeostasis?
The set point
How is negative feedback stopped once a factor has returned back to normal (the set point)?
The factor changing is monitored by the receptor and information is fed back to the effectors, which stop making the correction