Introduction And Apetite Control Flashcards
What is homeostasis?
Homeostatic mechanisms act to counteract changes in the internal environment.
Variables are regulated so that internal conditions remain stable and relatively constant.
Homeostasis is NOT a steady state but a dynamic equilibrium. Failure in homeostasis leads to disease.
Examples of homeostatic mechanisms exist at every level.
What are the characteristics of a control system?
1. Stimulus
2. Receptor - detects stimulus e.g. chemoreceptors, Thermoreceptors, Proprioceptors (sense of self awareness e.g where limbs are), Nociceptors (painful stimuli)
Afferent pathway (from receptor to control pathway)
3. Control centre - (e.g. hypothalamus) determines set point, analyses afferent input and determine response.
Efferent pathway
4. Effector - Causes changes e.g. sweat glands, muscles and kidneys. Negative feedback
Biological rhythms
Set point of control centre can vary because of Circadian (diurnal) rhythm.
This “biological clock” in brain in small group of neurones in suprachiasmatic nucleus.
Melatonin is produced from the pineal gland which is involved in setting the biological clock (higher at night).
What are Zeitgebers?
These are cues from the environment that keep the body on a 24hr cycle.
- Light
- Temperature
- Social Interactions
- Exercise
- Eating / Drinking pattern
Long haul flights crossing time zones can result in mismatch between environmental cues and body clock causing Jet Lag.
Negative feedback?
Response in a way to reverse the direction of change. Most common form of feedback in physiological systems. E.g the HPA axis.
What is positive feedback?
Response in a way so as to change the variable even more in the direction of the change (rare, few examples as negative feedback is ore common)
Used when rapid change is desirable.
Examples of positive feedback:
- Blood clotting
- Ovulation
- Ferguson reflex - oxytocin causes contraction which causes more oxytocin ect..
Regulation of body water?
Osmolality sensed in the hypothalamus. This is sensed by the amount of salt in the blood.
The osmotic pressue of blood plasma is monitored by osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus.
What is the difference between osmolarity and osmolality
Osmolarity = The number of osmoles per litre of solution VOLUME
Osmolality = The number of osmoles per Kg of solution MASS
What is an an osmole and when is serum osmolality useful?
Osmole = The amount of substance that dissociates in solution to form one mole of osmotically active particles e.g. 1mM solution of NaCl corresponds to an osmolarity of 2mOsmol/L
Serum osmolality is useful when investigating hyponatraemia (Low Na in blood). Reference range: 275-295mOsmol/Kg
What happens if blood osmolality is high? Low?
Plasma glucose homeostasis?
Glucose should stay at about 5mM.
In a fed state:
- Plancreas B cells releases insulin.
- This then stimulates gycogenesis in the liver and it stimulates glucose uptake into tissues (GLUT4).
- This results in a plasma glucose decline.
Fasted state:
- a Cells in the pancreas releases glucagon.
- Glucagon stimulates glycgenolysis in the liver. Glucose in the released into the blood and plasma glucose increases.
What are the major endocrine glands?
- Hypothalamus
- Pituitary gland
- Pineal gland
- Parathyroid gland
- Thymus
- Adrenal glands
- Pancreas
- Ovary
- Testis
What is the endocrine system?
The endocrine system is a collection of glands located throughout he body.
What are hormones?
Hormones are chemical signals produced in endocrine glands or tissue that travel in the bloodstream to cause an effect on other tissues.
What other organs and tissues release important hormones?
- Heart (ANP and BNP)
- Liver (IGF-1)
- Stomach (Gastrin, Ghrelin)
- Placenta (inhibin, Placental lactogen)
- Adipose (Leptin)
- Kidney (Erythropoietin, Renin, Calcitriol)
Autocrine communication
Hormone signal acts back on the cell of origin