the CNS.
This condition of brain inflammation is
Homeostatic Imbalance
Nervous System
 A number of factors can impair the conduction of
impulses. For example, sedatives and anaesthetics
block nerve impulses by altering membrane
permeability to ions, mainly sodium ions. As we
have seen, no sodium entry = no action potential.
Cold and continuous pressure hinder impulse
conduction because they interrupt blood circulation
(and hence the delivery of oxygen and nutrients) to
the neurons. For example, your fingers get numb
when you hold an ice cube for more than a few
seconds. Likewise, when you sit on your foot, it
“goes to sleep.” When you warm your fingers or
remove the pressure from your foot, the impulses
begin to be transmitted again, leading to an
unpleasant prickly feeling. _
 Individuals who have problems with their basal
nuclei are often unable to walk normally or carry
out other voluntary movements in a normal way.
Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease are
two examples of such syndromes.
 Alzheimer’s ease (AD) is (altz′hi-merz) a
progressive dis-degenerative disease of the
brain that ultimately results in dementia
(mental deterioration).
 Parkinson’s disease, an example of a
basal nuclei problem, It results from a
degeneration of specific neurons in the
substantia nigra of the midbrain, which
normally supply dopamine to the basal
nuclei.
 Huntington’s disease is a genetic disease
that strikes during middle age and leads to
massive degeneration of the basal nuclei
and later of the cerebral cortex.
 Ataxia (uh tax′e uh If the cerebellum is damaged
(for example, by a blow to the head, a tumor, or a
stroke), movements become clumsy and
disorganized). Victims cannot keep their balance
and may appear drunk because of the loss of
muscle coordination. They are no longer able to
touch their finger to their nose with eyes closed—a
feat that healthy individuals accomplish easily.
 Meningitis, an inflammation of the meninges, is a
serious threat to the brain because bacterial or viral
meningitis may spread into the nervous tissue of
called encephalitis (en-sef-ah-li′tis). Meningitis is
usually diagnosed by taking a sample of cerebro-
spinal fluid from the subarachnoid space
surrounding the spinal cord.
 Hydro-cephalus (hi-dro-sef′ah-lus) if something
obstructs its drainage (for example, a tumor), CSF
begins to accumulate and exert pressure on the
brain. Literally means, “water on the brain.”
Hydrocephalus in a newborn baby causes the head
to enlarge as the brain increases in size. This is
possible in an infant because the skull bones have
not yet fused.
 Damage to the ventral root results in flaccid
paralysis of the muscles served. In flaccid
paralysis, nerve impulses do not reach the muscles
affected; thus, no voluntary movement of those
muscles is possible. The muscles begin to atrophy
because they are no longer stimulated.
 Spastic paralysis involuntary muscles are not
controlled. If the spinal cord is transected (cut
crosswise) or crushed
 Cerebral palsy is a neuromuscular disability in
which the voluntary muscles are poorly controlled
and spastic because of brain damage.
 ENCEPHALITIS – an inflammation of brain
tissue usually caused by a virus transmitted by the
bite of a mosquito. It is manifested by a wide
variety of symptoms, including coma, fever, and
convulsions and could result in death.
 TETANUS – is caused by the introduction of the
bacterium Clostridium tetani into an open wound.
The bacterium produces a neurotoxin that affects
motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain stem. It
also blocks inhibitory neurotransmitters , resulting
in muscle contractions. The jaw muscles are
affected earliest, locking the jaw in a closed
position, hence the common name lockjaw. Death
can result from spasms of the respiratory muscles
and the diaphragm.
Homeostatic Imbalance
Special Senses
 “Watery-Eyes”- Because the nasal cavity mucosa
is continuous with that of the lacrimal duct system,
a cold or nasal inflammation often causes the
lacrimal mucosa to become inflamed and swell.
This impairs the drainage of tears from the eye
surface.
 Conjunctivitis, Inflammation of the conjunctiva
results in reddened, irritated eyes. Pinkeye, its
infectious form caused by bacteria or viruses, is
highly contagious.
 Night Blindness- Its most common cause is
prolonged vitamin A deficiency, which eventually
causes the neural retina to deteriorate. Anything
that interferes with rod function hinders our ability
to see at night.
 Color blindness -Lack of all three cone types
whereas lack of one cone type leads to partial color
blindness.
 Cataracts, the loss of lens transparency, cause
vision to become hazy and distorted and can
eventually cause blindness.
 Glaucoma, if drainage of aqueous humor is
blocked, fluid backs up like a clogged sink.
Pressure within the eye may increase to dangerous
levels and com- press the delicate retina and optic
nerve.
 Hemianopia (hem–e-ah-no¿pe-ah) is the loss of
the same side of the visual field of both eyes,
which results from damage to the visual cortex on
one side only (as occurs in some strokes).
 Nearsightedness, or myopia (mi–o¿pe-ah; “short
vision”), occurs when the parallel light rays from
distant objects fail to reach the retina and instead
are focused in front of it; see part (b) in the figure.
Another way to think of this is the focal point of a
myopic eye falls short of the retina. Therefore,
distant objects appear
 Farsightedness, or hyperopia (hi–per-o¿pe-ah;
“far vision”), occurs when the parallel light rays
from distant objects are focused behind the retina
—at least in the resting eye, in which the lens is flat
and the ciliary muscle is relaxed; see part in the
figure. Hyperopia usually results from an eyeball
that is too short or from a “lazy” lens.
 Astigmatism (ah-stig¿mah-tizm), unequal
curvatures in different parts of the cornea or lens.
In this condition, blurry images occur because
points of light are focused not as points on the
retina but as lines (astigma = not a point). Special
cylindrically ground lenses or contacts are used to
correct a stigmatism.
 otitis media (o-ti¿tis me¿de-ah), inflammation of
the middle ear, is a fairly common result of a sore
throat, especially in children, whose pharyn-
gotympanic tubes run more horizontally.
 Deafness is defined as hearing loss of any degree
—from a slight loss to a total inability to hear
sound. Generally speaking, there are two kinds of
deafness, conduction and sensorineural
 Conduction deafness results when
something interferes with the conduction of
sound vibrations to the fluids of the inner
ear.
 Sensorineural deafness occurs when there
is degeneration or damage to the receptor
cells in the spiral organ of Corti, to the
cochlear nerve, or to neurons of the
auditory cortex. This often results from
extended listening to excessively loud
sounds.
 Anosmias, although it is possible to have either
taste or smell deficits, most people seeking
medical help for loss of chemical senses have
olfactory disorders,
 Strabismus (strah-biz¿mus), which is commonly
called “crossed eyes,” results from unequal pulls by the
external eye muscles that prevent the baby from
coordinating movement of the two eyes.
Homeostatic Imbalance
Endocrine System
 DIABETES MILLITUS – a very common
disorder of the endocrine system. It is caused by a
deficiency in insulin production. Other individuals with
diabetes have a decreased number of insulin receptors
on target cells so that glucose is unable to move into
cells even with normal insulin amounts. This condition
results in chronic elevations of glucose in the blood, a
condition known as hyperglycemia. There are 2 types
of diabetes mellitus:
  Type 1 diabetes – also known as juvenile-
onset diabetes because it usually develops
between 11 and 13 years of age but before 30.
It is an autoimmune disease that destroys the
beta cells of the pancreas. Individuals with this
type of diabetes must take daily insulin
injections.
 Type 2 diabetes – known as noninsulin-
dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and is
the most common form of the disease,
affecting about 90% of people with diabetes. It
usually develops after 40 years of age and
produces milder symptoms.
 DIABETES INSIPIDUS – is caused by either not
enough antidiuretic hormone (ADH) being produced by
the posterior pituitary gland or from ADH receptors that
are not functioning properly. This is not to be confused
with diabetes mellitus. Individuals with diabetes
insipidus excrete copious amounts of urine and thus
become severely dehydrated.
 SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER – occurs
in individuals who are sensitive to an overproduction of
melatonin that occurs in climate zones that have cloudy
winter months with little bright sunshine. It produces a
type of depression. Since winter months also have short
days, this also contributes to more melatonin being
secreted by the pineal gland (less light equals more
melatonin). Individuals with this condition can be
treated with daily doses of several hours of bright
artificial light.
 ALDOSTERONISM – is caused by too much
secretion of aldosterone, one of the mineralocorticoid
hormones from the adrenal cortex. Symptoms of this
condition include high blood pressure. This results from
sodium and water retention by the kidneys, reduced
levels of potassium in the blood, and an increase in
blood pH.
 CUSHING’S SYNDROME – caused by a long-
term excessive production of cortisol by the adrenal
cortex. Individuals with this condition have decreased
glucose tolerance levels. Symptoms of the condition
include excessive weight around the waist, and a round
moonlike face caused by the accumulation of excessive
adipose tissue on the trunk and face. The skin may
become abnormally pigmented, causing reddish blotches
on the face of light-skinned individuals. Individuals
with this syndrome are susceptible to having infections,
which may become difficult to eradicate.
 GRAVE’S DISEASE – is a symptom of
hyperthyroidism. Symptoms include an abnormal
protrusion of the eyeballs and an enlarged thyroid gland.
The disease is more common in women and appears to
be genetic in origin. It occurs between 30 and 60 years
of age. Other symptoms include weight loss, fatigue,
palpitations of the heart, nervousness, and slight tremors
in the hands. This disease is treated with drugs or
radioactive iodine.
 GOITERS – is an enlargement of the thyroid
gland that results when the diet is deficient in an iodine.
 CRETINISM – a condition characterized by
physical deformity and learning disabilities that is
caused by congenital thyroid deficiency. It results in
dwarfism in which the adult body proportions remain
childlike.
 Hyposecretion of GH during childhood leads to
pituitary dwarfism
 Gigatism_ Hypersecretion of GH
 Hyposecretion of FSH or LH leads to sterility, the
lack of ability to successfully reproduce, in both
males and females.
Homeostatic Imbalance
Blood
 Anemia- A decrease in the oxygen-carrying ability
of the blood, whatever the reason,
Anemia may be the result of (1) a lower-
than-normal number of RBCs or (2) abnormal or
deficient haemoglobin content in the RBCs
 A sickle cell anemia (SCA), the body does not
form normal hemoglobin (as in the RBC shown in
part (a) of the figure). Instead, abnormal
hemoglobin is formed that becomes spiky and
sharp (see part (b) of the figure) when either
oxygen is unloaded or the oxygen content in the
blood decreases below normal
 polycythemia (pol′′e-si-the′me-ah)- An excessive
or abnormal increase in the number of erythrocytes.
Polycythemia may result from bone marrow cancer
(polycythemia vera).
 Leukemia (lu-ke′me-ah), literally “white blood,”
the bone marrow becomes cancerous, and huge
numbers of WBCs are turned out rapidly
 Thrombus- A clot that develops and persists in an
unbroken blood vessel.
 Embolus- if a thrombus breaks away from the
vessel wall and floats freely in the bloodstream.

 Thrombocytopenia results from an insufficient

number of circulating platelets. It can arise from
any condition that suppresses the bone marrow,
such as bone marrow cancer, radiation, or certain
drugs.

 Hemophilia (he′′mo-fil′e-ah) applies to several

different hereditary bleeding disorders that result
from a lack of any of the factors needed for
clotting.