Human Anatomy and Physiology Introduction > Homeostasis

Homeostasis
Homeostatic Control
Disease as Homeostatic Imbalance

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Human Anatomy and Physiology Introduction > Homeostasis

Homeostatic Control
Homeostatic control mechanisms have at least three interdependent components:
receptor, control center, and effector.
The receptor senses environmental stimuli, sending the information to the control
center.
The control center, generally the brain, signals an effector (e.g. muscles) to
respond to the stimuli.
Positive feedback enhances or accelerates output created by an activated
stimulus.

Negative feedback brings a system back to its level of normal functioning such as
adjusting blood pressure, metabolism, and body temperature.

Negative Feedback Loop

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Human Anatomy and Physiology Introduction > Homeostasis

Disease as Homeostatic Imbalance

Many diseases are a result of homeostatic imbalance or an inability of the body to
restore a functional and stable internal environment.
Aging is a source of homeostatic imbalance as the control mechanisms of the
feedback loops lose their efficiency.
Diseases that result from a homeostatic imbalance include diabetes, dehydration,
hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, gout, and any disease resulting from bloodstream
toxins.
Diabetes occurs when the control mechanism for insulin becomes imbalanced

either because insulin is deficient or the cells have become resistant to insulin.
Homeostasis is the property of a system that regulates its internal environment,

Homeostasis of Glucose Metabolism

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maintaining a stable, relatively constant set of properties such as temperature or

pH, in which the body's internal environment is kept stable and functional.

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Appendix
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Human Anatomy and Physiology Introduction

Key terms
blood sugar regulation Insulin is a hormone, produced by the pancreas, which is central to regulating carbohydrate and fat
metabolism in the body.Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as
glycogen inside these tissues.Glucagon, a peptide hormone secreted by the pancreas, raises blood glucose levels.Its effect is
opposite that of insulin, which lowers blood glucose levels.The pancreas releases glucagon when blood sugar (glucose) levels
fall too low.Glucagon causes the liver to convert stored glycogen into glucose, which is released into the bloodstream.
diabetes A group of metabolic diseases whereby a person (or other animal) has high blood sugar due to an inability to produce,
metabolize, or respond to the hormone insulin.
homeostasis The ability of a system or living organism to adjust its internal environment to maintain a stable equilibrium; such
as the ability of warm-blooded animals to maintain a constant temperature.
homeostasis The ability of a system or living organism to adjust its internal environment to maintain a stable equilibrium; such
as the ability of warm-blooded animals to maintain a constant temperature.
negative feedback Negative feedback mechanisms consist of reducing the output or activity of any organ or system back to its
normal range of functioning.
positive feedback a feedback loop in which the output of a system is amplified with a net positive gain and added to the input
signal before the main amplifier

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Human Anatomy and Physiology Introduction

Homeostasis of Glucose Metabolism

This image illustrates glucose metabolism over the course of a day.Homeostasis may become imbalanced if the pancreas is over-stressed, making it
unable to balance glucose metabolism.This could lead to diabetes.

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Wikimedia. "Glucose-day-english." CC BY-SA 3.0 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glucose-day-english.svg View on Boundless.com

Human Anatomy and Physiology Introduction

Homeostatic Control
This image illustrates the feedback mechanisms of homeostatic controls.

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Wikimedia. "Temperature Regulation." Public domain http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Temperature_Regulation.jpg View on Boundless.com

Human Anatomy and Physiology Introduction

Negative Feedback Loop

The hypothalamus secretes corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), which directs the anterior pituitary gland to secrete adrenocorticotropic hormone
(ACTH).In turn, ACTH directs the adrenal cortex to secrete glucocorticoids, such as cortisol.Glucocorticoids not only perform their respective functions
throughout the body but also prevent further stimulating secretions of both the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland,

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Wikimedia. "ACTH Negative Feedback." CC BY http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ACTH_Negative_Feedback.svg View on Boundless.com