B5 Homeostasis Flashcards
What is homeostasis?
Regulation of conditions inside the body to maintain a stable internal environment, in response to both internal and external conditions
What 4 internal features are maintained by homeostasis?
Temperature
Water
Glucose
pH
Why is a constant intenal environment important?
So that cells are able to function normally and effectively in any conditions
Why is it important to have a constant glucose level?
Too much glucose can cause diabetes
Too little glucose can cause sweating or trembeling
Why is it important to have a constant water level?
Too much water can cause cells to burst
Too little water may mean they can not function correctly
Why is it important to have a constant body temperature?
High temperature increases kinetic energy of enzymes so they react faster
Low temperature may denature enzymes
What two automatic control systems are involved in homeostasis?
Nervous System
Endocrine System
What are receptors?
They sense external change
What do coordination centres do?
They decide what to do, depending on signals they recieve
Name 3 coordination centres
Brain
Spinal Cord
Pancreas
What are the two types of effectors?
Muscles
Glands
What is the order of compounds in a control centre?
Stimulus Receptor Coordinator Effector Response
What does homeostasis maintain optimum conditions for?
Enzyme Action
Cell Structure
Chemical Reactions
What is a negative feedback loop?
A continuous cycle of events that respond when conditions change away from a set point and causes it to return to a set point
What is the use of the nervous system?
It allows humans to react to their surroundings
What is the CNS?
Central Nervous System - It works as a coordination centre
What does the CNS consist on in vertebrates?
The Brain and Spinal Cord
What are sensory neurones?
Neurnones that carry information as electrical impulses from the receptors to the CNS
Where are receptors located?
In and on organs
What are motor neurones?
Neurones that carry electrical impulses from the CNS to effectors
What are effectors?
Muscles or glands that carry out a response to a nervous impulse
What is a receptor?
Cells that detect a stimuli
What is a synapse?
The connection between two neurones
How does a signal travel across a synapse?
It is transfered into chemicals and diffuses across the gap before setting of a new electrical signal in the next cell
What is a reflex?
A rapid and automatic response that does not involve the concious part of the brain
What is a reay neurone?
A neurone in the spinal cord that allow the CNS to be bypassed and send stimuli from the sensory nerone straight to the motor neurone
What is reaction time?
The time taken to respond to the stimulus
What an reaction time be effected by?
Age, gender or drugs
How can we test reaction time and how caffeine effects it?
Ruler drop test
How do we carry out the ruler drop test?
One person must hold a ruler between anothers thumb and finger at 0cm
They must then drop it without warning and the other person must catch it as quickly as possible
They should then try it after drinking a caffinated drink
Most effective ways of testing reaction time?
Computer tests
What is the brain made up of?
Billiones of nterconnected neurones
Where is the Celebral Cortex?
It is the outer wrinkly section of the brain
What is the function of the Celebral Cortex?
It is responsible for the conciousness, intelligence, memory and language
Where is the Cerebellum?
In the back and lower section of the brain
What is the function of the Cerebellum?
Responsible for muscle coordination
Where is the Medulla?
In front of the spinal cord, below the main section of the brain
What is the function of the Medulla?
Controls unconcious activities (breathing anf heartbeat)
How do we study a brain?
Studying patients with brain damage
Electrically Stimulating the brain
MRI Scans
What does MRI stand for?
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
What does an MRI scan show?
Which area of the brain is active
How do we elctricall stimulate a brain?
Pushing tiny electrodes into the tissue and zapping it with electricty to observe how the body reacts.
Where is the sclera located?
Around the eye
What is the function of the sclera?
It is a tough supporting wall
Where is the cornea located?
It is a transparent, outer layer at the front of the eye
What is the function of the cornea?
It refracts light into the eye
Where is the iris located?
Muscles just below the surface of the eye at the fron that can change size
What is the function of the iris?
Controls the diameter of the pupil and thus the light that goes into the eye
Where is the lens located?
Behind the iris but in front of the main bulk of the eye
What is the function of the lens?
Focuses the light on the retina
Where are the ciliary muscles located?
Behind the iris, on either side of the suspensory ligaments
What is the function of the ciliary muscles?
Help control the shape of the lens and thus helps focus
Where is the suspensory ligament located?
Between the cilliary muscles and the lens, behind the iris
What is the function of the suspensory ligament?
Help control the shape of the lens and thus helps focus
Where is the optic nerve located?
Behind the eye
What is the function of the optic nerve?
Carries impulses to the brain
Where is the retina located?
At the back of the eye
What is the function of the retina?
It has receptor cells that understand the colour and light and understand the image
What damages the retina?
Bright lights
Which reflex protects oour retina?
When there are bight lights a reflex is triggeres that make the pupil smaller so less light enters.
What is the pupil size controlled by?
The Iris contracting/ relaxing
What happens in the eye when you look at a near by object?
The cillary muscle tightens
The suspensory ligament slakens
The lens becomes fatter (more curved)
Therefore light is refacted more
What happens in the eye when you look at a far away object?
The cillary muscle relax
The suspensory ligament pull tight
The lens becomes thinnes (less curved)
Therefore light is refacted less
Why does eye sight get worse with age?
The lens become less flexible and cannot easily spring back into shape and ths cannot focus
What does it mean to be long sighted?
You cannot focus on nearby objects
What causes long-sightedness?
The lens is the wrong shape and doesn’t refact light enough or the eyeball is too short
What does it mean to be short sighted?
You cannot focus on far away objects
What causes short-sightedness?
The lens is the wrong shape and refacts light too much or the eyeball is too long
How can we treat long-sightedness?
A convex lens which curves outwards
Medical name for being long-sighted?
Hyperopia
How can we treat short-sightedness?
A concave lens which curves inwards
Medical name for being short-sighted?
Myopia
Advantages of contact lenses
Lightweight
Good for sport
Comfortable
Invisible
Didvantages of contact lenses
High risk of eye infection
What happens during laser eye surgery?
A laser is used to vaporise tissue, changing the shape of the cornea
Advantages of laser eye surgery
Long term solution
Work for multiple eye problems
Disadvantages of laser eye surgery
Risk of surgical complications
What can be treated by doing surgery to replace the lens?
Long sighted
What are replacement eye lenses made from?
Clear plastic
Advantages of surgically replacing the eye lens
More effective
Disadvantages of surgically replacing the eye lens
Higher risk of complications including damage to the retin
What is our optimum body temperature?
37°C
What part of the brain controls temperature?
The thermoregularity centre
How does the thermoregularity centre calculate our internal body temperature?
It has receptors that are sensitive to the temperature of blood
Responses to high body temperature
Sweat
Vasodilation
Responses to low body temperature
Hairs stand up to trap air
No Sweat
Vasoconstriction
Shiver
Define hormones
Chemical molecules released into the bood that effect certain organs/ tissues and make them change
What is the endocrine system?
The system which links hormones, glands and their targets
What type of effect do hormones give?
Long lasting
Where is the pituitary gland located?
Below the brain
What does the pituitary gland do?
Regulates body conditions
Regulates other glands
Which is the ‘master gland’?
Pituitary Gland
What do the ovary glands do?
Produce oestrogen (needed for the menstrual cycle)