Homeostasis Flashcards
What is homeostasis?
All the functions of your body which try to maintain a constant internal environment
Why must things in the body be regulated?
To keep all your cells working properly, certain things must be kept at the right level (not too high and not too low)
What are the bodily levels that needs to be controlled?
Ion content
Water level
Sugar content
Temperature
What is ion content regulated by?
The kidneys
How are ions taken into the body?
Ions are taken into the body in food?
What happens to ions when they are taken into the body?
They are absorbed into the blood
What happens if the food contains too much of any kind of ion? How does this happen?
The excess ions need to be removed (eg a salty meal will contain far too much Na+)
→ Some ions are lost in sweat
→The kidneys will remove the excess from the blood - this is then got rid of in urine
How is water taken into the body?
As food and drink
The ways in which water is lost from the body?
Through the skin as sweat
Via the Lungs in breath
Via the Kidneys as urine
What does the balance between sweat and urine depend on?
What your doing and the weather
Explain what happens with your sweat and urine on a cold day?
On a cold day or when you’re not excercising you:
Don’t sweat - so you’ll produce more urine (which will be pale since the waste carried in the urine is more diluted)
Explain what happens with your sweat and urine on a hot day?
On a hot day when you’re excercising:
You sweat a lot, and therefore will produce less urine (but this will be more concentrated and hence a deeper colour)
→ You will also lose more water through your breath when you excercise because you breathe faster
What is body temperature controlled by?
The brain (the thermoregulatory centre)
What temperature do enzymes work best at in the human body?
37℃
How does the brain act like a ‘personal thermostat’
It measures the temperature of the blood in the brain, and it recieves messages from the skin that provide information about skin temperatures
