Homeostasis Flashcards
What is homeostasis?
The maintenance of a constant internal environment, within restricted limits in organisms.
It involves trying to maintain the chemical make-up, volume and other features of blood and tissue fluid.
It ensures that cells are in an environment that meets their requirements.
What is homeostasis - optimum?
There are continuous fluctuations brought about by variations in internal and external environment - temperature, pH and water potential.
But these changes occur around an optimum point.
Homeostasis is the ability to return to that optimum point and maintain equilibrium.
Why is homeostasis important for enzymes?
Enzymes that control reactions, and other proteins, are sensitive to pH and temperature changes.
Changing these reduces the rate of reaction or may prevent them working at all.
Maintaining a fairly constant internal environment means reactions take place at a suitable rate.
Why is homeostasis important for water potential?
Changes to the water potential of blood and tissue fluid may cause cells to shrink and expand due to water movement by osmosis.
The cells cannot operate normally.
The maintenance of constant blood glucose concentration is essential for constant water potential, as well as a reliable source of glucose for respiration.
Why is homeostasis important for organisms?
Organisms who can maintain a constant internal environment are more independent of changes in the external environment.
They may have a wider geographical range and therefore greater chance of finding food, shelter etc.
E.g. Mammals are found in most habitats.
What are the control mechanisms?
The optimum point, at which the system works best, monitored by a:
Receptor, which detects deviation from the optimum, and informs the:
Coordinator, which coordinates information from receptors and sends information to an appropriate:
Effector, a muscle or gland, which brings about the changes needed to return to the optimum, this return creates a:
Feedback mechanism, where a receptor responds to a stimulus created by a change to the system brought about by the effector.
What is the definition of negative feedback?
When the change produced by the control system leads to a change in the stimulus detected by the receptor and turns the system off.
What is positive feedback?
Occurs when a deviation from an optimum causes changes that result in an even greater deviation from the normal.
E.g. a stimulus leads to a small influx of sodium ions, which increases membrane permeability to sodium ions, more enter, so further increase permeability and more ions.
What is the classification of control systems?
There are many receptors and effectors, so they have separate mechanisms that each produce a positive movement towards an optimum.
This allows a greater degree of control of the factor being regulated.
Having separate mechanisms that controls departures in different directions from the original state is a general feature of homeostasis.
Why is it important information from receptors is analysed by coordinators before action?
Temperature receptors in skin may signal that the skin is cold, so to raise the temperature.
But, information from the hypothalamus in the brain may indicate that the blood temperature is above average, e.g. during exercise.
Also, the control centre must coordinate the action of the effectors so they operate harmoniously.
What is negative feedback?
It occurs when the stimulus causes the corrective measures to be turned off, and returns the system to its optimum level.
What is negative feedback of glucose?
A fall in glucose concentration is detected by receptors on α-cells.
These cells secrete glucagon, which causes liver cells to convert glycogen to glucose, which increased blood glucose concentration.
This blood circulates back to the pancreas, and there is reduced stimulation of α-cells, so they secrete less glucagon.
So the secretion of glucagon leads to a reduction in its own secretion.
What is negative feedback of increased glucose?
If blood glucose concentration rises, insulin is produced from the β-cells in the pancreas.
Insulin increases the uptake of glucose by cells and its conversion to glycogen and fat.
The fall in blood glucose concentration that results reduces insulin production.
Why is it important there are separate negative feedback mechanisms?
It gives greater homeostatic control, because there are positive actions in both directions.
E.g. if glucagon raised glucose concentration above the optimum, it would take time for it to decrease again, if it was only by metabolic activity.
But, by the second hormone insulin, blood sugar concentration is lowered, so is more rapid.
What are the characteristics of hormones?
They are produced in glands, which secrete the hormone directly in the blood (endocrine).
Are carried in blood plasma to the target cells, which have specific receptors on their cell-surface membrane complementary to the hormone.
Are effective in very low concentrations, but have widespread, long-lasting effects.
