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The body tightly regulates the body temperature through a process called thermoregulation, in which the body can maintain its
temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. The core temperature of the body
remains steady at around 36.5–37.5 °C (or 97.7–99.5 °F). In the process of ATP production by cells throughout the body,
approximately 60 percent of the energy produced is in the form of heat used to maintain body temperature. Thermoregulation is an
example of negative feedback.
The hypothalamus in the brain is the master switch that works as a thermostat to regulate the body’s core temperature (Figure 1). If
the temperature is too high, the hypothalamus can initiate several processes to lower it. These include increasing the circulation of
the blood to the surface of the body to allow for the dissipation of heat through the skin and initiation of sweating to allow
evaporation of water on the skin to cool its surface. Conversely, if the temperature falls below the set core temperature, the
hypothalamus can initiate shivering to generate heat. The body uses more energy and generates more heat. In addition, thyroid
hormone will stimulate more energy use and heat production by cells throughout the body. An environment is said to be
thermoneutral when the body does not expend or release energy to maintain its core temperature. For a naked human, this is an
ambient air temperature of around 84 °F. If the temperature is higher, for example, when wearing clothes, the body compensates
with cooling mechanisms. The body loses heat through the mechanisms of heat exchange.
4. Physiology and pathophysiology of temperature regulation
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1. Define homeostasis and to explain the importance of the maintenance of the homeostasis
Definition: Homeostasis refers to the body's need to reach and maintain a certain state of equilibrium. The term is
often used to refer to the body's tendency to monitor and maintain internal states such as temperature and energy
levels at fairly constant and stable levels.
Importance: The purpose of homeostasis is to maintain a normal balance within the body regarding its temperature,
salt concentration, water concentration, and food intake. The human body functions normally with a narrow range of
variation for each of these factors. The body has ways of detecting changing levels of these factors through different
organs, which ultimately communicate the change in status to the brain. There is a communication loop between the
brain and distant organs involving neurons and endocrine hormones, which restores the balance of temperature, salt
levels, water levels, and energy levels.
2. Explain the contrubution of the body system to homeostasis using the negative feedback mechanism to maintain
the stable condition melu interior
Negative Feedback
A negative feedback system has three basic components (Figure 1a). A sensor, also referred to a receptor, is a component of
a feedback system that monitors a physiological value. This value is reported to the control center. The control center is the
component in a feedback system that compares the value to the normal range. If the value deviates too much from the set
point, then the control center activates an effector. An effector is the component in a feedback system that causes a change to
reverse the situation and return the value to the normal range.
This figure shows three flow charts labeled A, B, and C. Chart A shows a general negative feedback loop. The loop starts with
a stimulus. Information about the stimulus is perceived by a sensor which sends that information to a control center. The
control center sends a signal to an effector, which then feeds back to the top of the flow chart by inhibiting the stimulus. Part B
shows body temperature regulation as an example of negative feedback system. Here, the stimulus is body temperature
exceeding 37 degrees Celsius. The sensor is a set of nerve cells in the skin and brain and the control center is the temperature
regulatory center of the brain. The effectors are sweat glands throughout the body which inhibit the rising body temperature.
Figure 1. Negative Feedback Loop. In a negative feedback loop, a stimulus—a deviation from a set point—is resisted through a
physiological process that returns the body to homeostasis. (a) A negative feedback loop has four basic parts. (b) Body
temperature is regulated by negative feedback.
In order to set the system in motion, a stimulus must drive a physiological parameter beyond its normal range (that is, beyond
homeostasis). This stimulus is “heard” by a specific sensor. For example, in the control of blood glucose, specific endocrine
cells in the pancreas detect excess glucose (the stimulus) in the bloodstream. These pancreatic beta cells respond to the
increased level of blood glucose by releasing the hormone insulin into the bloodstream. The insulin signals skeletal muscle
fibers, fat cells (adipocytes), and liver cells to take up the excess glucose, removing it from the bloodstream. As glucose
concentration in the bloodstream drops, the decrease in concentration—the actual negative feedback—is detected by
pancreatic alpha cells, and insulin release stops. This prevents blood sugar levels from continuing to drop below the normal
range.
Humans have a similar temperature regulation feedback system that works by promoting either heat loss or heat gain (Figure
1b). When the brain’s temperature regulation center receives data from the sensors indicating that the body’s temperature
exceeds its normal range, it stimulates a cluster of brain cells referred to as the “heat-loss center.” This stimulation has three
major effects:
Blood vessels in the skin begin to dilate allowing more blood from the body core to flow to the surface of the skin allowing the
heat to radiate into the environment.
As blood flow to the skin increases, sweat glands are activated to increase their output. As the sweat evaporates from the skin
surface into the surrounding air, it takes heat with it.
The depth of respiration increases, and a person may breathe through an open mouth instead of through the nasal
passageways. This further increases heat loss from the lungs.
In contrast, activation of the brain’s heat-gain center by exposure to cold reduces blood flow to the skin, and blood returning
from the limbs is diverted into a network of deep veins. This arrangement traps heat closer to the body core and restricts heat
loss. If heat loss is severe, the brain triggers an increase in random signals to skeletal muscles, causing them to contract and
producing shivering. The muscle contractions of shivering release heat while using up ATP. The brain triggers the thyroid gland
in the endocrine system to release thyroid hormone, which increases metabolic activity and heat production in cells throughout
the body. The brain also signals the adrenal glands to release epinephrine (adrenaline), a hormone that causes the breakdown
of glycogen into glucose, which can be used as an energy source. The breakdown of glycogen into glucose also results in
increased metabolism and heat production.
3. Explain the pathophysiological state, unsued when one or more of the body system fail to function properly
Th e term pathophysiology refers to the abnormal functioning of the body (altered physiology) associated with disease. When a
homeostatic disruption becomes so severe that it is no longer compatible with survival, death results.
Maintaining Correct Body Temperature
Normal human body temperature is about 98 degrees Fahrenheit. If your body's homeostasis gets in trouble, you might have a
problem producing heat from the nutrients you take in or the outside environment might cause problems. If you're exposed to
extreme cold, your body temperature could fall, leading to hypothermia. This can slow organ function, producing confusion and
fatigue and, in serious cold for long periods, even death. In extreme heat, your body might be unable to cool down, which could
result in heatstroke. You might also feel muscle cramps and be exhausted. Eventually, in uncorrected, hyperthermia causes
seizures, unconsciousness and eventual death.
Convection is the transfer of heat to the air surrounding the skin. The warmed air rises away from the body and is
replaced by cooler air that is subsequently heated. Convection can also occur in water. When the water temperature
is lower than the body’s temperature, the body loses heat by warming the water closest to the skin, which moves
away to be replaced by cooler water. The convection currents created by the temperature changes continue to draw
heat away from the body more quickly than the body can replace it, resulting in hyperthermia. About 15 percent of
the body’s heat is lost through convection.
Radiation is the transfer of heat via infrared waves. This occurs between any two objects when their temperatures
differ. A radiator can warm a room via radiant heat. On a sunny day, the radiation from the sun warms the skin. The
same principle works from the body to the environment. About 60 percent of the heat lost by the body is lost through
radiation.
Evaporation is the transfer of heat by the evaporation of water. Because it takes a great deal of energy for a water
molecule to change from a liquid to a gas, evaporating water (in the form of sweat) takes with it a great deal of
energy from the skin. However, the rate at which evaporation occurs depends on relative humidity—more sweat
evaporates in lower humidity environments. Sweating is the primary means of cooling the body during exercise,
whereas at rest, about 20 percent of the heat lost by the body occurs through evaporation.
6. Explain the pathophysiology and pathogenesis of the disturbance of the thermoregulation condition
Pathophysiology of Heat Illness and Multiple Organ Failure
The true pathophysiology of heat illness is centered on the organ impairment caused by the fever itself and the ischemia
caused by reduced blood flow to organs. The efficiency of heat radiation is reduced when the ambient temperature rises.
Furthermore, sweat does not dry as well in a humid environment, reducing the efficiency of heat loss through evaporation, and
there is no effect of convection in calm air. The result of these effects is that the body surface temperature rises. When this
situation continues for a long time, the dehydration caused by sweating progresses and, when combined with blood being
retained at the dilated peripheral blood vessels, blood volume decreases. Increased viscosity of the blood further increases the
burden on the heart. The heart rate and contractility increase to augment the reduced blood volume in the body. However, in
such situations, the heart itself is exposed to higher temperatures, and the blood flow to the cardiac muscles is already
reduced, which further increases the burden on the heart. When heat release from the body core is impeded, and the bodily
functions that maintain body temperature fail, body temperature starts to climb, causing heat illness
Enzyme denaturation begins when body temperature reaches 40°C at the cellular level; when it reaches 41°C, decreases in
mitochondrial function disturbs oxidative phosphorylation (intracellular energy production), leading to organ impairment.
The reactions in various organs during heat illness are summarized in Table 2. In mild cases, muscles and the digestive tract
become the focus of impairment; however, as heat illness advances, the central nervous system, circulatory organs, liver,
kidney, and the coagulation system also sustain damage. Once the barrier function of the intestinal mucosa is impaired by heat
and decreased blood flow, intestinal bacteria and their toxins pass through the intestinal wall, enter the portal vein blood flow,
and circulate throughout the body via the liver. Consequently, the main symptoms that a patient will develop include fever,
shock, and multiple organ failure, which are similar to the symptoms of sepsis
7. Explain how the body regulate on extreme temperature