Chatper 16 - Homeostasis Flashcards
What is homeostasis?
The maintenance of a constant internal environment despite external changes
What are the 2 forms of coordination between systems in animals?
Nervous system
Hormonal system
List the differences between hormonal and nervous system
Hormonal:
- communication by hormones
- slow
- transmission via blood stream
- effectors are target cells in tissues
Nervous:
- communication by electrical impulses
- very rapid
- Transmission via neurones
- effectors are muscles or glands
What is an organisms internal environment + what does it supply?
Tissue fluid = surrounds all cells that make up an organism
- it supplies cells with nutrients and gases (glucose, O2) and removes waste products (CO2)
What is the composition of the blood + name some dissolved solutes
Plasma (55%): nutrients, gases, amino acids, plasma proteins, urea, vitamins and minerals
White blood cells + Platelets (4%)
Red blood cells (41%)
TISSUE FLUID RECAP:
How is it formed?
- Ventricles contract causing a high hydrostatic pressure at the arteriole end of capillary
- This high pressure forces water and some dissolves solutes out of capillary
- Endothelium has pores so that leakage can occur
- Large proteins and red blood cells are too large to leave
TISSUE FLUID RECAP
How does tissue fluid return to the blood?
- Due to friction and water loss, the hydrostatic pressure at the venule end is lower than at the arteriole end
- Blood also has lower water potential due to proteins left behind
- Water returns to venule end of capillary by osmosis down its water potential gradient
- Remaining water drains into the lymphatic system whereby a lymph eventually drains back into the blood
Why is homeostasis important?
Organisms with ability to maintain a constant internal environment can withstand greater changes in external environment so can survive a greater range of habitats
List the key stages of the homeostatic control system
- Input - change to the system e.g. a drop in body temp below 37 degrees
- Receptor - change detected in a living system e.g. hypothalamus detects the body temp to be below optimum
- Coordinator - operational info is stored here and used to coordinate effectors e.g. hypothalamus stimulates effectors
- Effector - brings about changes to system to return to optimum e.g. muscle shiver, increased metabolic rate etc
- Output - system returned to optimum e.g. body temp back to 37 degrees
What is negative feedback?
Usual type found in biological systems
- when the output from the system counteracts the input so turns the system off because body is brought back to set point
E.g. a drop in body temp = a warming response so output is rise in body temp back to optimum
What is positive feedback?
When input results in an increased output resulting in an even greater deviation from optimum/ set point
E.g. giving birth
What type of feedback is controlling body temp an example of?
Negative feedback
What are the two responses of thermoregulation? List the effectors
- Warming response
- blood vessels constrict (vasoconstriction)
- muscles shiver
- metabolic rate increases by thyroid hormones - Cooling response
- blood vessels dilate (vasodilation)
- skin perspires (sweat gland)
- breathing rate increases
Describe what happens to blood vessels when too cold
When too cold:
- surface blood vessels constrict and shunt vessels dilate
- this keeps blood flow lower down (further from skin)
- to prevent heat escaping by radiation
What is the role of hairs when cold?
Hair erector muscles are found around hair follicles
- when they contract they pull hairs up on its end
- this traps air close to skin
- to provide insulation as air is a poor conductor of heat
What are endotherms? List an advantage of their mechanism
Endotherms = warm blooded organisms (birds and animals)
- their body temp is controlled within (by homeostasis)
- source of heat is from metabolic activities that take place in their bodies
✅ can survive conditions quite different from optimum point
What are ectotherms?
Ectotherms = cold blood organisms (snakes and lizards)
- their body temp is controlled externally
- obtain heat from environmental sources so change their behaviour to control it (sun and shade)
- no homeostatically set point
What is regulating glucose concentration an example of?
Negative feedback
List the 2 factors influencing blood glucose levels
- Diet = consuming carb rich foods which get broken down into monosaccharides during digestion + absorbed into the blood. Therefore levels fluctuate depending on what and when we eat
- Activity level = more active we are, the more cells take up glucose from blood for respiration
Why is blood glucose important to regulate?
- its a respiratory substrate (needed to produce ATP=energy for cells)
- if glucose levels are too LOW = cells will be deprived of energy so wont function properly = increased water potential of blood plasma + tissue fluid causing more than normal amounts of water to move in to cells
- if glucose levels are too HIGH = decreased water potential of blood + tissue fluid = more water than normal moves out of cells (dehydrating cells)
What are the 3 hormones involved in regulation of blood glucose?
- Insulin
- Glucagon
- Adrenaline
Where are hormones released from?
Glands
What are the 2 types of glands and describe what they do?
- Endocrine glands
- secrete hormones (adrenal gland = adrenaline, part of pancreas = insulin and glucagon) and releases them into bloodstream
- goes to every organ in body but only target cells with correct complementary protein receptors respond - Exocrine glands
- secrete other products (salivary glands)
- releases products into a duct that carries the molecule to where they are used
What is the role of the pancreas in blood glucose regulation?
Used for producing the hormones as it contains endocrine glands:
- glucagon = released by ALPHA CELLS
- insulin = released by BETA CELLS
The endocrine portion of pancreas = islets of langerhans
Describe the role of the liver in blood glucose regulation
There are target cells on liver called hepatocytes which detect the hormones and cause an output