Homeostasis

• Homeostasis - process by which organisms maintain a relatively stable internal environment.
• homeostasis involves in control systems that keep your internal environment roughly constant with certain limits
• Three key things that are important to maintain are temperature ph and glucose
• Maintaining temperature - if temp becomes to high enzymes become denatured. Enzymes molecules vibrate too much and the H bonds that hold their 3D shape break changing the shape of the active site so enzyme can no longer work as a catalyst. Therefore metabolic reactions are less efficient.
• Maintaining PH - pH becomes too high (alkaline), it can lead to alkalosis, which can cause symptoms such as muscle twitching, hand tremors, nausea, and confusion, and in severe cases, can be life-threatening.
• Maintaining glucose - If blood glucose conc is too high then water potential of blood = reduced so water molecules diffuse out of cells and into blood by osmosis. This causes the cells to shrivel up and die. If glucose is too low cells= unable to carry out normal activities as there isn't enough glucose for respiration to provide energy.
• Homeostatic system - detect a change and respond by negative feedback
• homeostatic system involves in receptors a communication system and effectors
• negative feedback - the mechanism that restores the level to normal receptors detect whether the levels of something are too high the nervous system or hormonal system send info to the effectors and the effectors respond to counteract the change
• positive feedback - process in which the effects of a small disturbance on a system are amplified, leading to an increase in the deviation from the original state.
• Receptor - component of the feedback system that monitors change
• Control Centre - component of the feedback system that sets the normal range of values
• Effector - component of the feedback system that responds to change
• Homeostatic Imbalance - condition where the body is unable to maintain homeostasis and control the internal environment for cell and tissue activies
• Hypothalamus - send signals in mechanisms
• Positive feedback can be dangerous because of self-amplifying ability, which can be change the internal state of the body to something far from homeostatic set point