3.5 Homeostasis 2012 E.

3.5 Homeostasis
The word homeostasis comes from the Greek words:
 Homoios means “like” or “the same”, and
 Stasis means “state”.

So the word tells you exactly what it means keeping the conditions in the inside of your body
(the internal environment) in the same state all the time.

The tendency to maintain a stable, relatively constant internal environment is called homeostasis.
The body maintains homeostasis for many factors such as temperature, concentration of various
ions in the blood, pH and the concentration of glucose. If these values get too high or low, you
can end up getting very sick.

The combination of nervous and hormonal systems enables our body to work as a coordinated
whole and plays enormous role in maintaining the internal conditions in a stable state
(homeostasis).

Feedback mechanisms involving both the nervous system and hormonal systems play a very
important part in maintaining homeostasis. Most of these control systems in the body are
examples of negative feedback.

Negative feedback is the mechanism by which the body maintains conditions within particular
limits. The body will do this by opposing a change that deviates from the normal. For example:
 When levels of a substance in your body rise, changes are made which lower the levels
again.
 When levels of a substance fall, changes are made so that it rises again to the original
levels.

Controlling Temperature
One of the most important factors which animals need to control is the internal or core body
temperature.
 Heat is a form of energy which is produced in a number of ways such as by the sun,
artificial heating systems and chemical reactions which take place in the own body.
 Temperature is a way of measuring hotness or coldness (the effect of heat energy) on a
relative scale.

It is vitally important that wherever we go and whatever we do our body temperature is

maintained at the temperature (around 37 °C) at which our enzymes work best. Organisms use a
number of different ways to shift the balance and allow them to gain or lose heat as they need to.

Based on the temperature controlling methods, there are two types of animals. These are:
Poikilotherms and Homoiotherms.

HTCS, Set By: Yohannes Nigussie Page 1

 3.5 Homeostasis 2012 E.C

Poikilotherms
Poikilotherms are organisms whose body temperature is governed by the external temperature.
Examples include fish and reptiles.

Temperature Control in Poikilotherms

Poikilothermic animals have to rely on changes to their behavior and their body structures to use
the heat in their environment to maintain a reasonably steady and useful body temperature.

When they are cold they may:

 bask in the sun
 press their bodies close to a warm surface
 erect special sails or areas of skin which will
allow them to absorb more heat from the sun

When they are getting too hot they may:

 move into the shade
 move into water or mud

Homoiotherms
Homoiotherms are organisms with a relatively constant internal body temperature which is
usually higher than the external temperature and they independent of the environmental
temperature for example, birds and mammals.

Temperature Control in Homoiotherms

Human beings are good examples of homoiotherms, our body temperature is controlled by a
number of physiological and behavioral mechanisms which work together to allow us to gain or
lose heat as we need to.

Physiological Methods of Temperature Regulation in Homoiotherms

Sweating
 When you are hot the sweat glands on your skin produce sweats. Sweat is made up
mainly of water and salt but also contains a small amount of nitrogenous waste.
 As the water evaporates it cools the skin, taking heat from the body. Because water and
salt are lost in the sweat, it can affect your water and ion balance of the body. So you
need to replace the water and ions which are lost.
Vasodilation
 If the body temperature starts to go up, the blood vessels supplying the capillaries in your
skin dilate, so that more blood flows through the capillaries.
 Your skin flushes and more heat is lost through radiation from the surface. This is known
as vasodilation and it is particularly obvious in pale-skinned people.

HTCS, Set By: Yohannes Nigussie Page 2

 3.5 Homeostasis 2012 E.C

Panting and licking

 Some animals, such as dogs and cats, only have sweat glands in small areas of the skin
such as the feet. So to increase the amount of heat lost through evaporation, these animals
may lick themselves, coating parts of their bodies with which evaporates and cools them
down. They also pant, which allows water to evaporate from the moist surfaces of the
mouth and this also cools them down.
Vasoconstriction
 If your core temperature begins to fall the blood vessels which supply your skin
capillaries constrict (close up) to reduce the flow of blood through the capillaries.
 This reduces the heat lost through the surface of the skin, and makes you look paler. This
is known as vasoconstriction and it works to keep you as warm as possible.
Piloerection (pulling the hairs upright)
 Human beings, like other mammals, have a layer of hair over their bodies. Our hair is
very light compared to a dog or a cat, for example, but our bodies still react as if we are
furry. In furry animals the hair erector muscles contract so that it pulls the hairs upright,
trapping an insulating layer of air which is very effective at conserving heat.
Shivering and metabolic responses
 If your core body temperature drops your metabolic rate speeds up, producing more heat
energy so your body temperature starts to go up. Your liver in particular is involved in
this because it is a very large organ which carries out many different metabolic reactions.
 As part of this response you may start to shiver. When you shiver your muscles contract
rapidly, this involves lots of cellular respiration. This releases some energy as heat which
is used to raise the body temperature. As you warm up, shivering stops. But if your core
body temperature starts to rise, the metabolic rate drops so less heat is produced.
Fat layer under the skin (subcutaneous fat)
 The fat layer under the skin prevents unwanted heat loss from the body. It is particularly
noticeable in animals which live in very cold conditions, for example, seals and whales.

Behavioral Methods of Temperature Regulation Homoiotherms

Homoiotherms do not only rely on physiological methods to control their internal body
temperature. Like poikilotherms, they use behavioral methods of temperature control.
Clothing
 People choose suitable clothes for the weather as we do not have fur or feathers to keep
us warm. We wear warm clothes when the weather is cold and fewer, cooler clothes when
the external temperature is hot.
Seeking shade or shelter
 Like many other animals, people look for shade to keep them cool when it is hot and
sunny, and look for shelter from cold, wet or windy conditions to help prevent excess
heat loss and keep them warm, for example, native male rats live underground in burrows
all the time in arid deserts.

HTCS, Set By: Yohannes Nigussie Page 3

 3.5 Homeostasis 2012 E.C

Taking high-calorie food

 In cold conditions. We need to use more metabolic energy to keep warm so we eat high-
calorie food in cold conditions. Birds and other mammals do the same.
Hibernation
 In countries which have very cold winters, some homoiothermic animals will hibernate.
They cannot eat enough to keep their body temperature stable through the cold winter, so
they sleep through the bad conditions.
 These animals eat a lot and gain a lot of fat before hiding away in a warm nest or burrow
and going into a very deep sleep. Their metabolic rate falls and so does their body
temperature.
 They do not wake up until the warmer weather of spring arrives with more food for them
to eat, for example, dormice and hedgehogs in the UK.
Aestivation
 In hot countries, some animals ‘hibernate’ through the hottest weather as they cannot
keep their bodies cool enough.
 These animals usually hide themselves underground or under a layer of mud and go into a
deep sleep until conditions cool down again, for example, East African land snails can
aestivate for up to three years in times of extreme drought.
Wallowing or bathing
 Some animals cannot lose enough heat through sweating alone to keep their bodies cool
enough in hot weather. This is a particular problem for some larger animals.
 By wallowing in mud or bathing in water, the animals cover themselves in water and the
water evaporates from the surface of their skin, cooling them down, for example,
elephants and pigs.
Burning fires, central heating, air conditioning, etc
 People, can change the temperature of their environment. By burning a free or turning on
the heating we can warm things up and reduce the heat we lose, keeping us warmer.
 Air conditioning is used in some buildings and vehicles to cool the air down if it gets too
hot, so the people inside can lose more heat and keep themselves cool.

Controlling the Core Body Temperature

Biological systems like those of your body are constantly being pushed away from their balance
points. For instance, when you exercise, your muscles increase heat production, nudging your
body temperature upward. Similarly, when you drink a glass of fruit juice, your blood glucose
goes up.

Homeostasis depends on the ability of your body to detect and oppose these changes.
Maintenance of homeostasis usually involves negative feedback loops. These loops act to oppose
the stimulus that triggers them. For example, if your body temperature is too high, a negative
feedback loop will act to bring it back down towards the set point, or target value, of 37.0 C.

HTCS, Set By: Yohannes Nigussie Page 4

 3.5 Homeostasis 2012 E.C

How does this temperature control mechanism work?

 First, high temperature will be detected by sensory receptors; primarily nerve cells with
endings in your skin and brain.
 The thermoregulatory center in the brain contains receptors which are sensitive to the
temperature of the blood flowing through the brain itself
 And other information is comes from the temperature receptors in the skin (which can
detect a difference of as little as 0.5 °C).
 And those receptors relayed to a temperature-regulatory control center in your brain,
which send electrical impulses to stimulate the temperature-regulatory control
(thermoregulatory) center in your brain.
 The thermoregulatory center then processes the information and activates effectors; such
as the sweat glands, whose job is to oppose the stimulus by bringing, body temperature
down.

In general, homeostatic circuits usually involve at least two negative feedback loops:
 One is activated when a parameter; like body temperature, is above the set point and is
designed to bring it back down.
 While the other loop is activated when the parameter is below the set point and is
designed to bring it back up.

When Things Go Wrong

The homeostatic mechanisms of temperature control in your body usually work very effectively.
However, if conditions become too extreme and things go wrong with your temperature control
mechanism, the need for this homeostasis quickly becomes very clear indeed.

For example, when the weather becomes extremely hot and humid, and when people undertake
exceptionally challenging physical activity like running a marathon, the normal homeostatic
mechanisms may not cope. For example, eventually there is not enough spare water in the body
to produce sweat. The salt and water balance is destroyed and then the core temperature will rise
to dangerous levels. Once this happens people may die.

HTCS, Set By: Yohannes Nigussie Page 5

 3.5 Homeostasis 2012 E.C

On the other hand, if your core body temperature falls too low you suffer from hypothermia.
People with hypothermia have the following features:
 They have greyish-blue, puffy faces and blue lips.
 Their skin feels very cold to the touch, and they will be drowsy with slurred speech.

As it gets worse, they will stop shivering. If the body temperature falls too low the sufferer will
become unconscious and may die.

In Ethiopia hypothermia can be seen sometimes in new born infants if they are small and have
little body fat, or if they are not dried and wrapped up warm to be cuddled by their mother as
soon as possible after birth. It is known that heat from the body is losing through the surface of
the body. Hence, surface area to volume ratio is an important factor in controlling the core body
temperature.
 Smaller people; such as children have a much bigger surface area to volume ratio than
larger people, so small people lose heat relatively faster than larger people.
 As a result babies, children and small adults are more at risk of becoming too cold than
larger people.
 Big people, on the other hand, have a greater risk of overheating as their relatively small
surface area to volume ratio means they cannot lose large amounts of heat effectively.

Role of Excretory System in Homeostasis

Excretory system is a system of organs that removes metabolic waste products from the body.
Excretion is getting rid of the waste products which could build up in your body and damage
your cells is one of the most important aspects of homeostasis.

Metabolic wastes are materials which are produced by the metabolic processes of life. There are
two main metabolic waste products. These are carbon dioxide and urea, which would cause
major problems in your body if the levels rise.

The organs which are involved in getting rid of these metabolic wastes are known as excretory
organs. The main excretory organs of the body are;
 Lungs
 Kidneys and
 Skin.
The metabolic waste known as urea is removed from the body through the kidneys and the skin.
While another metabolic waste, carbon dioxide is removed from the body via lungs.

Lungs and Homeostasis

The lungs are very important excretory organs that remove carbon dioxide which is produced
during cellular respiration from the body via exhalation. The lungs use cells known as alveoli to
remove the carbon dioxide from our blood. Otherwise, the carbon dioxide would accumulate and
have a detrimental effect to our body.

HTCS, Set By: Yohannes Nigussie Page 6

 3.5 Homeostasis 2012 E.C

 For instance, if the levels of carbon dioxide increase as you exercise, the level is picked
up by sensory receptors in your arteries and brain, which send electrical impulses to
stimulate the breathing centers in your brain.
 In turn, these send impulses to make you breathe faster and deeper. As a result, the carbon
dioxide levels fall.
 This is picked up by the same receptors and so the stimulation of the breathing centers is
reduced, and in turn the breathing rate falls.

This is an example of a feedback mechanism; as the carbon dioxide levels go up, the breathing
rate goes up which makes the carbon dioxide levels fall, and so the breathing rate returns to
normal as well.

Homeostasis and the Kidney

Another metabolic waste which can cause serious health problems is urea. Urea is produced in
your liver when excess amino acids are broken down. These excess amino acids come from
protein in the food you have eaten and from the breakdown of worn-out body tissue.
 If you eat too much carbohydrate or fat, you can store it (as glycogen or fat) until you
need it. However, your body cannot store excess protein or amino acids, so any excess is
always broken down.
 The amino acids are converted into ammonia and carbohydrate which can be stored or
used.
 The ammonia is then combined with carbon dioxide getting rid of another metabolic
waste to make urea, which is a form of nitrogenous waste and it leaves your liver via the
blood.
 The urea is then filtered out of the blood by the kidneys and removed in the urine.

Your kidneys are one of your main excretory organs, and also one of your main organs of
homeostasis. They play a vital role in the removal of urea from the body, but their role in
homeostasis is even more important, because they also play a major part in regulating the water
and salt balance of your body.

Controlling the Internal Concentration

If the concentration of the body fluids changes, water will move into or out of the cells by
osmosis and they could be damaged or destroyed.
Water gain Water loss
3
Water gain from Content in cm Water loss through Content in cm3
Food 800 cm3 Exhaled air 400 cm3
Drink 1400 cm3 Sweat 600 cm3
Cell respiration 400 cm3 Urine 1500 cm3
Faeces 100 cm3
Total 2600 cm3 Total 2600 cm3

HTCS, Set By: Yohannes Nigussie Page 7

 3.5 Homeostasis 2012 E.C

The water balance of our body is maintained by the kidneys.

 If we are short of water we produce very little urine and most water is saved for use in the
body.
 If we have too much water then our kidneys produce lots of urine to get rid of the excess.

The kidney is most important in keeping an ion balance. We take in mineral ions with our food.
 Excess mineral ions are removed by the kidneys and lost in the urine.
 Some are lost via our skin when we sweat.

The balance of water and salts in your body is very important because of the osmotic impact on
your cells, if the balance is wrong so controlling this balance is known as osmoregulation. Your
kidneys are vitally important in two aspects of homeostasis. These are,
 Excretion and
 Osmoregulation

The Kidneys
The mechanisms of removing urea and control the levels of water and ions in the body by the
kidneys are:
 Blood flows into the kidney along the renal artery.
 The blood is filtered, so fluid containing water, salt, urea, glucose and many other
substances is forced out into the kidney tubules.
 Then everything the body needs is taken back (reabsorbed), including all of the sugar and
the mineral ions needed by the body.
 The amount of water reabsorbed depends on the needs of the body.
 The waste product urea and excess ions and water not needed by the body are released as
urine.
 Each kidney has a very rich blood supply and is made up of millions of tiny microscopic
tubules (nephrons) which are where all the filtering and reabsorption takes place.

The roles of the different areas of a single kidney tubule in the production of urine are described
below:
Bowman’s capsule:
 The site of the ultrafiltration of the blood.
 Ultrafiltration is the removal of excess water and other substances from the blood
Glomerulus:
 The knot of blood vessels in the Bowman’s capsule where the pressure builds up so that
ultrafiltration occurs.
First coiled (convoluted) tubule:
 The liquid which enters this first tubule is known as the glomerular filtrate.
 The site where much of the reabsorption takes place.

HTCS, Set By: Yohannes Nigussie Page 8

 3.5 Homeostasis 2012 E.C

Loop of Henlé:
 The site where the urine is concentrated and more water is conserved.
Second coiled (convoluted) tubule:
 The site where the main water balancing is done.
 If the body is short of water, more is into the blood in this tubule under the influence of
the anti-diuretic hormone or ADH.. (Diuresis means passing urine, so anti-diuresis means
preventing or reducing urine flow.)

Collecting duct:
 The site where the liquid (essentially urine) is collected.
 It contains about 1% of the original water, with no glucose at all.

Urine is formed constantly in your kidneys, and it drips down to collect in your bladder.
 Bladder is a muscular sac which can hold between 600 and 800 cm3 urine, although we
usually empty it when it contains only 150–300 cm3.
 We can control the opening of the bladder thanks to a strong ring of muscle known as a
sphincter at the entrance to our urethra, the tube that leads from the bladder to the outside
world.

The amount of water lost from the kidney in the urine is controlled by a sensitive negative
feedback mechanism involving the hormone ADH.
 As the water concentration of the blood falls, the level of ADH produced rises.
 As the water concentration of the blood rises again, the level of ADH released falls.

HTCS, Set By: Yohannes Nigussie Page 9

 3.5 Homeostasis 2012 E.C

For example,
If too low water in the blood:
 If the water content of the blood is too low (so the salt concentration of blood increases)
special sense organs known as osmoreceptors in your brain detect this.
 They stimulate the pituitary gland in the brain to release ADH into the blood.
 This hormone affects the second coiled tubules of the kidneys, making them more
permeable so more water is reabsorbed back into the blood.
 This means less water is left in the kidney tubules and so more concentrated urine is
formed.
 At the same time the amount of water in the blood increases and so the concentration of
salts in the blood returns to normal.

If too high water in the blood:

 If the water content of the blood is too high, the pituitary gland releases much less ADH
into the blood.
 The kidney then reabsorbs less water back into the blood, producing a large volume of
dilute urine.
 Water is effectively lost from the blood and concentration of salts returns to normal.

The Skin and Homeostasis

Your skin plays a part in the salt and water balance of the body.
 It forms a waterproof layer around the body tissues which protects us from the
uncontrolled loss of water from our body tissues by evaporation.
 It also prevents you from gaining water by osmosis every time you go swimming or
washing.
 The skin also loses salt and water through the process of sweating. This can affect the ion
and water balance of the body when you sweat a lot. But this is a relatively uncontrolled
loss.
 You sweat to help the body cool down, not to control the ion and water balance of the
body. The kidneys have to work to support the changes to the concentration of the body
fluids that result from sweating excessively.

The Liver and Homeostasis

The liver plays a large role in maintaining a constant internal environment. It is the largest
individual organ in your body; in fact it makes up around 5% of your body mass. Your liver cells
are very active, they carry out a wide range of functions, many of which help to maintain a
constant internal environment.

The liver has a very special blood supply as well as the usual artery and vein (the hepatic artery
and vein) there is another blood vessel which comes to the liver directly from the gut. This is the
hepatic portal vein and it brings the products of digestion to the liver to be dealt with.
HTCS, Set By: Yohannes Nigussie Page 10
 3.5 Homeostasis 2012 E.C

A large number of reactions take place in the liver. Many of them are involved in homeostasis in
one way or another. It plays a part in all of the following functions:
 The formation of bile: Bile is made in the liver and stored in the gall bladder before it is
released into the small intestine to emulsify fats during digestion.
 Control of the sugar levels in the body through stored glycogen in the liver itself and release
glucose as needed
 Control of toxins: Your liver breaks down most of the poisons you take into your body,
including alcohol. When the liver has broken down harmful substances, they are excreted
into the bile or blood. This is why the liver is so often damaged when people drink heavily.
 The breakdown of worn-out red blood cells in particular the red pigment hemoglobin.
 Processing of hemoglobin for use of its iron content (the liver stores iron)
 Protein metabolism: Conversion of harmful ammonia to urea (urea is one of the end
products of protein metabolism that is excreted in the urine).
 If you eat more carbohydrate or fat than you need in your diet your body simply
stores the excess energy as fat. If you eat too much protein, your body cannot store
the excess amino acids instead the amino acids which make up the protein are broken
down in your liver.
 The nitrogen containing part of the amino acid molecule is removed and converted
into ammonia and then urea in the liver. The process of removing the amino group
from excess amino acids is known as deamination and it is a very important function
of the liver.
 The rest of the amino acid can be used in cellular respiration or converted to fat for
storage.
 Temperature control: Around 500 different reactions take place in the liver at any time.
 For many years it has been believed that as a result of all these reactions the liver
generates a lot of heat which is then spread around the body by the bloodstream.
 Increasingly scientists think that the reactions which generate heat are cancelled out
by reactions which use heat, so that in fact the liver produces very little excess heat.
Any that is produced is used around the body.

The liver is a very important organ and we need to look after the health of our livers. For
instance, homeostasis is a delicate balance throughout your body as all of the changes which
come with everyday life are resisted by your body to maintain the constant internal environment
that cells need to work properly. So we have to avoid any drugs or substances which may affect
the proper functioning of the liver.

HTCS, Set By: Yohannes Nigussie Page 11