7.

4 Homeostasis

1 Define homeostasis as the maintenance of a constant internal

environment

Homeostasis is is the property of a system that regulates its internal

environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition of properties
like temperature or pH.

Homeostasis requires a sensor (r____________) to detect changes in the

condition to be regulated, whether the stimuli are from outside or inside of the
body, then an effector mechanism that can vary that condition, and a negative
feedback connection between the two.

The outside stimuli can be the t____________ of the surrounding while the
internal stimuli can be the concentration of blood g____________.

Next, what is negative feedback mechanism?

Negative feedback mechanisms consist of reducing the output or activity of any

organ or system back to its normal range of functioning. A good example of this
is regulating blood pressure. B______ v__________ can sense resistance of
blood flow against the walls when blood pressure increases. The blood vessels
act as the receptors and they send this message to the b_________. The brain
then sends a message to the heart and blood vessels, both of which are the
effectors. The heart rate would decrease as the blood vessels increase in
diameter. This change would cause the blood pressure to fall back to its normal
range.

Is there any positive feedback mechanism, where certain activity keeps on

deviating and far away from its normal range? ____________________

Give example.

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2 Identify, on a diagram of the skin: hairs, sweat glands, temperature
receptors, blood vessels and fatty tissue.

The main functions of the structures that can be found in the human skins:

 Hair => _________________________________________________

 Sweat Glands => __________________________________________
 Temperature receptors => ___________________________________
 Blood vessels => __________________________________________
 Fatty tissue => ____________________________________________

3 Describe the maintenance of a constant body temperature in humans in

terms of insulation and the role of temperature receptors in the skin,
sweating, shivering, vasodilation and vasoconstriction of arterioles
supplying skin-surface capillaries and the coordinating role of the brain.

During hot weather:

Sweating:  Sweat glands near the skin begin to secrete s_________ in hot and
humid weathers.  The sweat absorbs the h________ and allows it to evaporate.
Additionally, the vessels are bought near to the surface of the skin to reduce
distance heat has to travel to escape. Sweating mainly allows the body to cool
down.

Vasodilation: This allows body to quickly lose heat. The lumen’s of blood

vessels (arterioles) start widening, and this i____________ amount of blood
flow flowing to the surface of the skin. The heat here is then loss by radiation.

The hair is lying near to the skin surface: This allows the air not to be trapped
by the hair and we know that air is a good heat i___________, since there is less
air to the skin surface, the heat from the skin can be easily dissipated.

During cold weather:

Shivering: Muscles in limbs start to contract and relax, hence i__________ the

rate of respiration and the amount of energy released. Shivering is mainly used
to heat up the body.

Vasoconstriction: This causes arterioles to be lower to reduce amount of blood

flowing to surface of skin. Hence, less heat is lost.

The hair is straightened: When the hair is erected, more air will be trapped by
the hair and since air is a good heat i_____________, the heat from the body is
harder to be released.

4 Explain the concept of body temperature control by negative feedback.

Blood temperature changes with body internal temperature. When blood vessels
flow through brain, a part of the brain called the hypothalamus detects this
change and then starts sending electrical impulses to the rest of the body so the
body can start heating or cooling itself.

5 Describe the control of the glucose content of the blood by the liver, and
by insulin and glucagon from the pancreas.

Glucose levels are controlled by the pancreas, and not the hypothalamus.

If glucose levels are too high, the p__________ secrete a hormone

called i___________ which decreases glucose levels to normal levels. Insulin
flows in the blood until it reaches the liver. When it arrives at the liver, insulin
will convert the excess glucose in the blood into g__________ and store it in
the liver cells. 
When blood levels are too l_____, the pancreas secrete another hormone
called g___________. When glucagon reaches the liver, it makes the liver
convert the glycogen previously converted by the insulin into g___________,
and secrete it back to the bloodstream.

What is the condition that can cause blood sugar to increase and deviate from
normal range?
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What is the condition that can cause blood sugar to decrease and deviate from
normal range?
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What is the name of a disease where patients’ pancreas are failed to produce
sufficient insulin?
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Why diabetic patients need to inject insulin into their body, but not through oral
administration?
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