How do systems interrelate to maintain homeostasis

Such diseases can be delayed or prevented if the person eats nutritious food, has regular physical activity, and does not smoke. Nutrition: If your diet lacks certain vitamins or minerals your cells will function poorly, and you may be at risk to develop a disease. For example, a menstruating woman with inadequate dietary intake of iron will become anemic.

Hemoglobin, the molecule that enables red blood cells to transport oxygen, requires iron. Therefore, the blood of an anemic woman will have reduced oxygen-carrying capacity.

In mild cases symptoms may be vague e. Physical Activity: Physical activity is essential for proper functioning of our cells and bodies. Adequate rest and regular physical activity are examples of activities that influence homeostasis. Lack of sleep is related to a number of health problems such as irregular heartbeat, fatigue, anxiety, and headaches.

Being overweight and obesity, two conditions that are related to poor nutrition and lack of physical activity greatly affect many organ systems and their homeostatic mechanisms. Staying fit by regularly taking part in aerobic activities such as walking, shown in Figure 4, has been shown to help prevent many of these diseases.

Figure 4: Adding physical activity to your routine can be as simple as walking for a total of 60 minutes a day, five times a week. Mental Health: Your physical health and mental health are inseparable. Our emotions cause chemical changes in our bodies that have various effects on our thoughts and feelings.

Negative stress also called distress can negatively affect mental health. Regular physical activity has been shown to improve mental and physical well-being, and helps people to cope with distress. Among other things, regular physical activity increases the ability of the cardiovascular system to deliver oxygen to body cells, including the brain cells.

Medications that may help balance the amount of certain mood-altering chemicals within the brain are often prescribed to people who have mental and mood disorders. This is an example of medical help in stabilizing a disruption in homeostasis. Any substance that interferes with cellular function and causes cellular malfunction is a cellular toxin. There are many different sources of toxins, for example, natural or synthetic drugs, plants, and animal bites. Air pollution, another form of environmental exposure to toxins is shown in Figure 5.

A commonly seen example of an exposure to cellular toxins is by a drug overdose. When a person takes too much of a drug that affects the central nervous system, basic life functions such as breathing and heartbeat are disrupted. Such disruptions can results in coma, brain damage, and even death. The six factors described above have their effects at the cellular level. A deficiency or lack of beneficial pathways, whether caused by an internal or external influence, will almost always result in a harmful change in homeostasis.

Too much toxicity also causes homeostatic imbalance, resulting in cellular malfunction. By removing negative health influences and providing adequate positive health influences, your body is better able to self-regulate and self-repair, which maintains homeostasis.

Article objectives To identify the process by which body systems are kept within certain limits. To explain the role of feedback mechanisms in homeostasis. To distinguish negative feedback from positive feedback. To identify and example of two organ systems working together to maintain homeostasis. To summarize the role of the endocrine system in homeostasis. To outline the result of a disturbance in homeostasis of a body system.

Homeostasis Homeostasis refers to stability, balance, or equilibrium within a cell or the body. Feedback Regulation Loops The endocrine system plays an important role in homeostasis because hormones regulate the activity of body cells. Thermoregulation: A Negative Feedback Loop Negative feedback is the most common feedback loop in biological systems. Table 1: Types of Homeostatic Regulation in the Body. Figure 5: Air pollution can cause environmental exposure to cellular toxins such as mercury.

Images courtesy of: USFG. Public Domain. Add new. Add an OpenCurriculum resource. When homeostasis is altered there are two possible responses:. As this tends to keep things constant, it allows the maintenance of homeostasis. For example, if there is a fall in calcium in the blood, the parathyroid glands sense the decrease and secrete more parathyroid hormone, thereby increasing calcium release from the bones;.

Positive feedback is used when rapid change is needed. For example in childbirth the hormone oxytocin is produced to stimulate and enhance labour contractions Bodyguide, A receptor detects external changes that could influence the internal environment. For example, the following are involved in the regulation of blood pressure:. When there is an increase in heart rate more blood is pumped into the arteries resulting in an increase in blood pressure Docherty, This is detected by the baroreceptors, which are located in the walls of certain arteries.

These receptors send impulses to the control centre the medulla oblongata , which interprets the message and sends impulses to the effectors the cardiovascular system. These slow the pulse, decreasing blood pressure Tortora and Anagnostakos, Sign in or Register a new account to join the discussion.

You are here: Respiratory. Homeostasis — Part 1: anatomy and physiology. This article, the first in a series of four, looks at the anatomy and physiology of homeostasis. Related files.

NT Contributor. Please remember that the submission of any material is governed by our Terms and Conditions and by submitting material you confirm your agreement to these Terms and Conditions. Links may be included in your comments but HTML is not permitted. Together, these responses to increased body temperature explain why you sweat, pant, and become red in the face when you exercise hard.

Heavy breathing during exercise is also one way the body gets more oxygen to your muscles, and gets rid of the extra carbon dioxide produced by the muscles.

Conversely, if your body is too cold, blood vessels in the skin contract, and blood flow to the extremities arms and legs slows. Muscles contract and relax rapidly, which generates heat to keep you warm. The hair on your skin rises, trapping more air, which is a good insulator, near your skin.

As you have learned, blood glucose homeostasis is regulated by two hormones from the pancreas. This glucose provides the fuel for ATP production by all body cells. But the endocrine system is not the only system involved.

Many body cells respond to insulin and glucagon, but the liver of the digestive system plays in important role in ensuring the availability of fuel in-between meals. The nervous system also plays a role in maintaining blood glucose levels. These sensations prompt you to eat, which provides new nutrient sources to raise blood glucose levels.

The exocrine part of the pancreas is also part of the digestive system. It produces enzymes that help digest the nutrients you have eaten so they can be absorbed by the small intestine into the blood. The circulatory system is important in transporting the glucose and pancreatic hormones in blood to all body cells. As you have learned, proper calcium levels are important for normal function of several systems. Calcium ions are used for blood clotting, the contraction of muscles, the activation of enzymes, and cellular communication.

The parathyroid gland of the endocrine system is the main receptor and control center for blood calcium levels. When the parathyroid glands detect low blood calcium levels, they communicate with several organ systems and alter their function to restore blood calcium levels back to normal.

The skeletal, urinary, and digestive systems all act as effectors to achieve this goal through negative feedback. The release of parathyroid hormone from the endocrine system triggers osteoclasts of the skeletal system to breakdown resorb bone and release calcium into the blood.