Homeostasis

    Cards (12)

    • Homeostasis
      The regulation of the internal conditions of a cell or organism to maintain optimum conditions for function in response to internal and external changes
    • Enzymes and cells require very stable conditions in order to work
    • The body has systems in place to keep the internal conditions optimum for the cells to function
    • Internal conditions maintained by homeostasis
      • Blood glucose concentration
      • Body temperature
      • Water levels
    • Automatic control systems
      • Involve the nervous system or hormones
      • Consist of receptor cells detecting changes in the environment
      • Receptor cells pass information to a Coordination Center
      • Coordination Center sends instructions to an effector
    • Stimulus
      A change to the environment detected by receptor cells
    • Effector
      A muscle or gland that carries out the response
    • The homeostasis topic will cover a range of different systems, each with a stimulus, receptor, Coordination Center, and effector
    • Coordination Center
      The part of the nervous system that receives the signal from the receptor and coordinates a response
    • Stimulus
      A change in the internal or external environment that triggers a response from the body
    • Homeostasis
      The body's ability to maintain a stable internal environment despite changes in external conditions
    • Receptor
      A sensing device that detects a stimulus and sends a signal to the coordination center