Regulation and

Homeostasis in the
Human Body:
Overview
 What is homeostasis?
Homeostasis is any self-regulating process
by which an organism tends to
maintain stability while adjusting to
conditions that are best for its survival. If
homeostasis is successful, life continues; if
it’s unsuccessful, it results in a disaster
or death of the organism.
 How do Humans and other mammals maintain
homeostasis?
They must execute all needed life functions in a
coordinated way.

List of life functions/tasks:

Growth Get energy

Repair of injuries Reproduce

Get building materials Get rid of waste

Keep away disease Respond to changing environment

Eleven body systems work together to maintain
homeostasis and execute these tasks:
1. Nervous System
2. Endocrine System
3. Lymphatic System
4. Circulatory System
5. Respiratory System
6. Digestive System
7. Excretory System
8. Skeletal System
9. Muscular System
10. Integumentary System
11. Reproductive System
Human Body Organization
The Human Body
is composed of

Organ Systems
are composed of

Organs
are composed of

Tissues
are composed of

Cells
 1) Circulatory System
Major Structures
heart, blood vessels, blood,
lymph nodes and vessels,
lymph

Functions
transports nutrients,
wastes, hormones and gases
The circulatory system:
explanation
Diagram of the double circulatory system
 Interesting Facts…
The heart is a muscle about the size of a fist.
Each blood cell takes around 20 seconds to make its deliveries and
travel back to the heart.
The heart works by contracting and relaxing.
The heart has flapping valves that allow blood to flow in one
direction.
A heart attack is caused by a blood vessel blocked by a clot.
The average person has about 5 liters of blood.
The four blood types are A, B, AB, and O.
 Interesting Facts…
Food takes 3 days to complete its journey through the digestive
system.
An adult digestive system is about 9,000 metres long.
An average person takes in about 2 kilograms of food and drink
every day, consuming over 50 000 kilograms in a lifetime.
Gravity and bands of muscles help food travel down the
esophagus to the stomach, making it possible to eat lying down or
even upside down.
The stomach is lined with a slimy mucus and releases an acid
called gastric juice to help dissolve food.
Stomach noises are caused by food and air sloshing around.
Water makes up about 70% of the body.
2) Digestive System
Major Structures
Mouth
Throat
Esophagus
Stomach Functions
Liver extracts and absorbs nutrients
Pancreas from food;
Small and large intestines removes wastes;
maintains water and chemical
balances
The nutrients your body needs are:
1. Water
2. Carbohydrates
3. Fats
4. proteins
5. Vitamins
6. Minerals

WATER – Most of the body's reactions take place in water. Humans

need an average of 1.5 liters of water a day. Dehydration causes many
problems throughout the body.
CARBOHYDRATES – Sugars and starches are used by the body to
provide the simple sugars needed for Respiration (energy)
FATS- Deposits of fats protect body organs, insulate
the body and store energy, make up cell membranes
and coat the nervous system cells
PROTEINS – Supply the raw materials for growth and
repair in the form of enzymes
VITAMINS – Organic molecules that work with
enzymes to control body processes.
MINERALS – Inorganic nutrients that are needed in
small amounts. Calcium is needed to build bones, Iron
is needed for red blood cells.
 4 major tasks of the digestive system:
1. Ingestion: taking in of food, eating
2. Digestion: biomolecules and polymers are broken
down physically and chemically
3. Absorption: nutrients are absorbed and delivered
to cells
4. Elimination: waste is removed
The Process of Digestion: The path of food
Each organ of the digestive system helps convert foods into
simpler molecules that can be absorbed and used by the cells
of the body.
Teeth – Cut, Crush and tear food
Salivary glands – Moisten food to make it easier to chew and pass
through the system, enzymes break down starches
Esophagus – Tube from mouth to stomach connected by the pharynx.
Works by contraction of the smooth muscles known as peristalsis.
Stomach – Muscular sac that churns and mixes food with acid
As food leaves the stomach,
1. It travels
Section 38-2
into the small intestine through the
doudenum, and it mixes with enzymes and
digestive fluids from the liver, gallbladder and
pancreas.

Liver Bile Duct

Gallbladder Pancreas

Doudenum
 .

1. Chemicals from the pancreas breakdown carbohydrates,

proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. In addition, chemicals
from the pancreas produce substances which neutralize
stomach acid.
If the acid travels too far without being neutralized it will change
the shape of enzymes and cause problems in the body.
1. The liver makes bile which acts like a detergent to break
down fat. The gallbladder is a storage area for the bile.
1. The small intestine absorbs nutrients from the digestive
systems and transfers many of the nutrients to the
circulatory system. The small intestine is lined with small
fingerlike projections known as villi which designed to
have a large surface area for this task.

Small
Intestine
Villus
Food that enters the large intestine (= colon) is nutrient-free. Usable
nutrients have been absorbed leaving water and undigestible substances.

The large intestine removes water from the waste. Once water is
eliminated the solid waste passes out of the body through the rectum.

The appendix is located just below the entry to the large intestine. In
many animals, it helps digest difficult materials such as cellulose. In
humans, the appendix is not used for any purpose in digestion. When it
gets infected it is removed.