Water Balance & Regulating Water Levels Flashcards
How is water gained?
Water is input from both food and drinks and respiration.
How is water lost?
Water is output through sweating, breathing and excretion of faeces and urine
What does the body need to balance the inputs and outputs?
To ensure that there’s enough water inside cells for cell activity to take place
What role does the kidneys play in balancing water?
The kidneys play a vital role in balancing water, waste and other chemicals in the blood
What systems are involved in maintaining the stability of the internal environment of the body?
Both the hormonal and nervous systems
What is this process called?
Homeostasis
Does the body need to keep any factors to allow them to work properly?
All the body’s automatic control systems need to keep a variety of factors within a safe range to allow them to work properly.
Give examples of this
For example;
- Water levels are monitored by receptor cells in the brain
- The brain then processes this information and coordinates the response to the effector organ
- The pituitary gland is an effector which produces the response
- This results in a hormone being released to affect the kidneys and the amount of water that’s release or retained in the blood.
How do your kidneys balance the water levels in your body?
When the water level is too high, your kidneys reabsorb less water and a large amount of dilute urine is produced.
When the water level is too low, your kidneys reabsorb more water and a small amount of concentrated urine is produced.
What does the amount of water that needs to be reabsorbed into the blood plasma depend on?
The external temperature
The amount of exercise taken
The fluid intake
What affect does alcohol have on your overall health?
Alcohol causes a large amount of dilute urine to be produced, which can adversely affect overall health that can then lead to dehydration.
What affect does Ecstasy have on your overall health?
Ecstasy causes a small amount of less dilute urine to be produced.
