Homeostasis and Feedback

Homeostasis: Maintaining Limits

 Homeostasis is the maintenance of
relatively stable conditions
 Ensures the body’s internal environment
remains steady despite changes both inside
and outside the body
Examples of Maintaining
Homeostasis
 Keeping body temperature around 37oC
 Maintaining blood glucose level
 Keeping oxygen concentration steady
Dynamic Equilibrium
 Homeostasis can fluctuate over a narrow
range the is compatible with life.
 If certain levels fall outside this range for a
prolonged period of time death may result
Control of Homeostasis:
Feedback Systems
 Every body structure contains homeostatic
devices that work to keep the internal
environment within normal limits
 2 body systems control most homeostatic
devices (part of the life process called
regulation)
 Endocrine

 Nervous
Nervous Control of Homeostasis
 The nervous system detects changes from
the normal state and sends out nerve
impulses to organs to counteract the
change
Endocrine Control of Homeostasis
 Corrects changes by secreting chemicals
called hormones into the blood
 Hormones affect specific body cells where
they cause responses that restore
homeostasis
Feedback System
 AKA feedback loop
 Cycle of events in which the status of a
body condition is continually monitored,
evaluated, changed, remonitored, re-
evaluated and so on…
 Each condition in the body that is
monitored in such a way is called a
controlled condition
 Any disruption that causes a change in a
controlled condition is called a stimulus
Components of a Feedback System
 Receptor – monitors change
 Control Center – sets a range of
acceptable values, evaluates input from
the receptor and sends output to an
effector
 Effector – a body structure that receives
output from the control center and
produces a response or effect that
changes the controlled condition.
Negative Feedback Systems
 Reverses the change in a controlled
condition
 EX – BP, BGL, HR, Temp
Positive Feedback System
 The effector produces a response that
enhances or reinforces the initial change
in the controlled condition.
 EX – Childbirth, Ovulation, Blood Clotting
 Happens in stimuli that are do not happen
very often
Homeostasis and Disease
 If 1 or more components of the body lose
their ability to contribute to homeostasis,
the normal balance among all the body’s
processes may be disturbed.
 This may result in a disease, disorder or
even death
Disorder
 Any disturbance of the structure or
function of the body
Disease
 A more specific term for an illness that is
characterized by a specific set of signs
and symptoms
Symptoms
 Subjective changes in body function that
are not apparent to an observer
 Ex – nausea or headache
Signs
 Objective changes that a clinician can
observe and measure
 Ex – bleeding, swelling, fever, rash
Infectious disease
 Pathogens invade a host and cause a
disease
Local Disease
 Affects one part or region of the body
Systemic Disease
 Affects several body parts or the whole
body
Pathology
 The science that deals with the nature,
causes and development of abnormal
conditions that occur from the disease
process
Epidemiology
 The science that deals with the why, when
and where diseases occur and how they
are transmitted in a human community
Pharmacology
 The science that deals with the effects and
uses of drugs in the treatment of disease
Diagnosis
 The identification of a disease or disorder
based on a scientific evaluation of a
patient’s signs and symptoms, medical
history, physical examination and
sometimes lab tests
Aging and Homeostasis
 Aging is a normal process characterized
by a progressive decline in the body’s
ability to restore homeostasis.
 Produces observable changes in structure
and function and increases vulnerability to
stress and disease