5.3 HOMEOSTASIS Flashcards
What is the coordination of cells?
The coordination of cells:
- evolution of organisms has given rise to multicellular life
- multicellular organisms must coordinate the function of different cells and systems to operate effectively
- very few body cells can work in isolation
What is homeostasis?
Homeostasis is the maintenance of a stable equilibrium in the conditions inside the body.
What is the role of cell signalling in homeostasis?
Cell signalling is the communication of cells. The nervous and endocrine systems are coordinated by cell signalling. One cell releases a chemical which then has an effect on another cell (target cell).
What is signal initiation?
Signal initiation:
- sensory receptors detect changes in the bodies internal and external environments
- information from the receptors is transmitted to the brain via sensory neurones
What are the types of signal transfer?
Types of signal transfer:
- locally (e.g neurotransmitters across synapse)
- long distances = using hormones (e.g ADH secretion)
What is signal response?
Signal response:
- impulses are sent along motor neurones to effectors which bring about changes to restore equilibrium
- effectors are the muscles or glands that respond to the stimuli
How do plants respond to cell signalling?
Plants response:
- don’t have nervous systems but need to respond to internal and external changes
- use plant hormones to achieve a response
- stems grow towards a light source to maximise their rate of photosynthesis (due to auxin)
What is negative feedback?
Negative feedback is the reversing of a change in the internal environment.
What is positive feedback?
Positive feedback is where a change in the internal environment is detected and then reinforced by effectors to reinforce the change.
- not common
- usually harmful (e.g body temp decreases, enzymes less active, decreased heat)
- blood clotting cascade and role of oxytocin in childbirth
What is sensitivity?
Sensitivity is the ability to response to internal and external changes.
What is a stimulus?
A stimulus is a detectable change in external or internal environment of an organism.
What are receptors?
Receptors are extrinsic glycoproteins that bind to chemical signals, triggering a response by the cell.
What are effectors?
Effectors are a muscle or gland which carries out the bodies response to a stimulus
What is an example of positive feedback?
An example of positive feedback is labour, where the cervix opens and oxytocin is released. Oxytocin increases contractions which causes the cervix to stretch more.
What are ectotherms?
Ectotherms are animals that use their surroundings to warm their bodies, so their core temperature is heavily dependant on the environment (e.g reptiles, fish).
What are endotherms?
Endotherms are animals that rely on their metabolic processes to warm their bodies and maintain core temperature (e.g birds, mammals).
How is temperature change detected?
Temperature change is detected by:
- peripheral receptors in the skin
- temperature receptors in the hypothalamus detect the temperature of the blood deep in the body
- gives the body greater sensitivity
What is the hypothalamus?
The hypothalamus:
- temperature receptors in the hypothalamus act as a thermostat for the body = it controls the responses that a core body temperature of 37 degrees C
- within the hypothalamus there is the heat loss centre and heat gain centre
What is vasodilation?
Vasodilation:
- cooling down when core body temp increases
- arterioles near surface of skin dilate when temp increases
- vessels that provide a direct connection between arterioles and venules (arteriovenous shunt vessels) constrict
- forces blood through capillary networks close to the surface of the skin
- skin flushes and cools as a result of increased radiation
- if skin is pressed against cool surfaces then cooling happens from conduction
- as core temp increases, rate of sweating also increases
- sweat evaporates, heat is lost, blood cooled below surface
- in some animals sweat glands are covered by hair, so they pant when they get hot
- erector pilli muscles in the skin collapse, avoids trapping an insulating layer of air
What is vasoconstriction?
Vasoconstriction:
- warming up when core body temp decreases
- arterioles near surface of skin constrict when temp decreases
- skin pales, little radiation takes place
- warm blood kept well below surface
- rates of sweating decreases, decreases cooling from skin, evaporation in lungs still occurs
- erector pilli muscles contract, hairs on skin stand up, reduces heat loss, creates insulating layer of air
- shivering occurs
What is shivering?
Shivering:
- rapid involuntary contracting and relaxing of the large voluntary muscles in the body
- metabolic heat from the exothermic reactions warm up the body instead of moving = effective way of raising the core temperature
- endotherms living in cold climates have adaptations that minimise their SA:V ratio to reduce cooling (e.g small ears)
What are the behavioural mechanisms for warming up in ecotherms?
Behavioural mechanisms - warming up:
- basking in the sun (lizards, locusts, butterflies)
- conduction = press bodies against warm group
- ectothermic metabolic reactions = vibration of muscles/wings
What are the behavioural mechanisms for cooling down in ecotherms?
Behavioural mechanisms - cooling down:
(important to cool down to stop enzymes denaturing)
- shelter from sun
- press bodies against cool earth or stone
- wallow in water or mud
What are physiological responses in ecotherms?
Physiological responses:
- dark colours absorb thermal radiation faster
- alteration of heart rate to increase or decrease metabolic rate
What are the advantages of endotherms?
Advantages of endotherms:
- can live in colder habitats
- core body temp kept constant
- can be active at all times of day/year
What are the disadvantages of endotherms?
Disadvantages of endotherms:
- huge proportion of energy intake used on temp regulation
- less energy from food is used for growth
- more food must be eaten per day
- may hibernate if food is scarce
What are advantages of ectotherms?
Advantages of ecotherms:
- less food is needed per day
- more energy from food is used for growth
- can survive longer without eating
- rate of respiration slower
What are disadvantages of ecotherms?
Disadvantages of ectotherms:
- less active in cold temperatures
- must have sufficient energy stores to survive cold weather
- puts them at risk of predation
- may need to be inactive and hibernate in cold weather
Introduction to the liver.
Introduction to the liver:
- largest internal organ in a mammals body
-makes up 5% body mass
- involved in many metabolic processes
- receives oxygenated blood from the hepatic artery (off aorta)(25% blood supply)
- receives deoxygenated from the hepatic portal vein (75%)(vein coming from gut)
What are hepatocytes?
Hepatocytes (liver cells):
- arranged in single rows along the sinusoids
- as blood flows through each sinusoid to the central branch of the hepatic vein the hepatocytes add materials to the blood- products manufactured by liver e.g plasma proteins
- they also remove materials from blood (oxygen, food substances, toxins e.g alcohol, metabolites) needed by theses cells or produced by other body cells
- levels of cholesterol vitamins A and D and iron are absorbed then stored and released from the liver as necessary
- the cells are identical and contains numerous mitochondria, lysosomes, glycogen granules and fat droplets
- have prominent golgi
- cell membrane facing sinusoids has microvilli
What are sinusoids?
Sinusoids:
- open channels through which blood flows in direct contact with hepatocytes
- are different to normal capillaries in that they are wider and the walls are more porous
- blood in sinusoids comes from 2 sources- hepatic portal vein (from small intestine) and hepatic artery
- blood flows to central branch of hepatic vein- blood to ‘hub’
- lined with kupffer cells which move within sinusoid and are involved in defence
What are kupffer cells?
Kupffer cells:
- move about the sinusoid and are part of the body’s defence mechanism
- they are phagocytes (macrophages) and ingest matter and are responsible for breakdown of hb in rbc producing bile pigments (billirubin/billiverdin)
What are bile canaliculi?
Bile canaliculi:
- also found in lobules
- each canaliculus is a blind-ended tube between two rows of liver cells
- hepatocytes secrete bile into the canaliculi
- canaliculi merge to form bile ducts in which bile is drained from the liver
- movement is in opposite direction to the flow of blood in sinusoids i.e away from centre
What are the functions of the liver?
Functions of the liver:
- disposes of worn out rbc (reusing them in masking bile)
- involved in carbohydrate metabolism and regulates blood sugar levels
- removes excess amino acids in the blood, breaking them down into ammonia then urea
- controls the level of fats in the blood by making cholesterol
- helps the body to destroy poisons such as alcohol, and to get rid of other unwanted substances e.g hormones
- makes and regulates many hormones, including sex hormones