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SL IB Biology Your notes
Homeostasis
Contents
Homeostasis: Maintaining the Internal Environment
Regulation of Blood Glucose
Thermoregulation
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Homeostasis: Maintaining the Internal Environment
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Maintaining the Internal Environment
The process of maintaining a constant internal environment is known as homeostasis
Homeostasis ensures that conditions inside the body are kept within preset limits
Homeostasis is critically important for organisms as it ensures the maintenance of optimal conditions
for enzyme action and cell function
Sensory cells can detect information about the conditions inside and outside the body; if conditions
have changed then the body can respond to keep conditions constant
Examples of physiological factors that are controlled by homeostasis in mammals include
Core body temperature
Blood pH
Concentration of glucose in the blood
Osmotic concentration of the blood
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Negative Feedback Loops
The majority of homeostatic control mechanisms in organisms use negative feedback loops to Your notes
achieve homeostasis
Negative feedback mechanisms work to return values to a set point; they reverse the effects of any
change within a system
Negative feedback loops are essential for maintaining conditions within set limits; this is not the
case in positive feedback mechanisms which instead amplify any change
Negative feedback control loops involve:
A receptor – receptor cells detect change in a physiological factor
A coordination system – the brain and nervous system transfer information between different
parts of the body
An effector – the muscles and glands bring about a response
Outcome of a negative feedback loop:
The factor / stimulus is continuously monitored
If there is an increase in the factor, the body responds to make the factor decrease
If there is a decrease in the factor, the body responds to make the factor increase
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Your notes
Negative feedback loops maintain conditions to a set point
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Regulation of Blood Glucose
Your notes
Diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2
Diabetes is a condition in which the homeostatic control of blood glucose has failed or deteriorated
The insulin function of diabetic individuals is disrupted which allows the glucose concentration in the
blood to rise
The kidneys are unable to filter out this excess glucose in the blood and so it often appears in the
urine
The increased glucose concentration also causes the kidneys to produce large volumes of urine,
making the individual feel thirsty due to dehydration
Glucose remains in the blood rather than entering the cells, so cellular respiration is reduced,
resulting in fatigue
If the blood glucose concentration reaches a dangerously high level after a meal then organ
damage can occur
There are two different types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a condition in which the pancreas fails to produce sufficient insulin to control blood
glucose levels
It normally begins in childhood due to an autoimmune response whereby the body’s immune system
attacks the β cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas
The damage to the β cells means that insulin production can no longer take place, and blood glucose
concentration can therefore not be regulated
Type 1 diabetes is normally treated with regular blood tests, insulin injections and a modified diet
Such a diet may involve a reduction in carbohydrate intake
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is more common than type 1, and usually develops in older adults
In type 2 diabetes the pancreas still produces insulin but the cell membrane receptors to which insulin
binds have reduced in number or no longer respond
The inability of cells to respond to insulin can be described as insulin resistance
The pancreas will attempt to compensate for this by secreting more and more insulin; eventually
insulin production will no longer be able to compensate for the reduced cellular response
There is a reduced glucose uptake which leads to uncontrolled high blood glucose concentration
Type 2 diabetes is managed by
Medication to lower blood glucose
A low carbohydrate diet
Any food that is rapidly digested into sugar will cause a sudden, dangerous spike in blood
sugar
An exercise regime that lowers blood glucose
Obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes; the over-production of insulin in response to a high-
carbohydrate diet triggers the development of insulin resistance
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Type 1 and type 2 diabetes table
Your notes
Type 1 Type 2
Inability of pancreas to Cells of the body become
Cause
produce insulin resistant to insulin
Monitoring blood glucose
levels and injecting human Maintain a low-carbohydrate
Treatment insulin throughout the day diet and regular exercise to
(particularly after meals reduce need for insulin
consumed)
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Regulation of Blood Glucose
It is essential that blood glucose concentration is kept within narrow limits Your notes
Glucose is essential for respiration, so it is important that blood glucose levels do not drop too low
Glucose is soluble, so blood glucose concentration affects the osmotic balance between the
cells and the blood
The control of blood glucose concentration is a key part of homeostasis
Blood glucose concentration is controlled by two hormones which are secreted into the blood by
specialised tissue in the pancreas
This tissue is made up of groups of cells known as the islets of Langerhans
The islets of Langerhans contain two cell types:
α cells that secrete the hormone glucagon
β cells that secrete the hormone insulin
These α and β cells are involved with monitoring and responding to blood glucose levels
The islets of Langerhans form the endocrine tissue of the pancreas, while the exocrine tissue is involved
with the production of digestive enzymes
The effects of insulin
Blood glucose concentration increases after a meal that contains carbohydrate
This increase in blood glucose is detected by the β cells in the pancreas, which synthesise and secrete
insulin
Insulin is transported in the blood to target cells all over the body
Insulin's main target cells are in the liver and muscles
The effects of insulin include:
Glucose channels in cell surface membranes open, and glucose moves out of the blood and into
the body cells by facilitated diffusion
Liver and muscle cells convert excess glucose into glycogen to be stored; this is glycogenesis
An increase in the rate of respiration, using up glucose
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Conversion of glucose to fatty acids, resulting in fat storage
Insulin lowers blood glucose concentration
Your notes
The effects of glucagon
Glucagon is synthesised and secreted by α cells when blood glucose falls
Blood glucose could fall after a period of fasting, or after exercise
Glucagon is transported in the blood to target cells
The effects of glucagon include:
The activation of enzymes that enable the hydrolysis of glycogen in liver and muscle cells,
releasing glucose that enters the blood; this is glycogenolysis
A decrease in the rate of respiration
Amino acids are converted to glucose; this is gluconeogenesis
Glucagon increases blood glucose concentration
Regulation of blood glucose diagram
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Your notes
Blood glucose is regulated by insulin and glucagon
Examiner Tip
The terms glucagon and glycogen are very often mixed up by students as they sound similar.
Remember:
Glucagon is the hormone
Glycogen is the storage polysaccharide of animal cells
Learn the differences between the spellings and what each one does so you do not get confused in
the exam!
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Thermoregulation
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Thermoregulation as Negative Feedback Control
Thermoregulation is the control of internal body temperature
Thermoregulation is an example of a negative feedback mechanism; when body temperature
deviates from pre-set limits, the responses of the body act to reverse the change and bring
temperature back to normal
Negative feedback is brought about by:
Using receptors to detect any deviation from normal levels
External body temperature is monitored using peripheral thermoreceptors in the skin
Internal body temperature is monitored using receptors located inside the hypothalamus of
the brain
Effectors respond to any deviation from normal levels
Controlling heat loss at the skin to the external environment
Modifying the generation of heat inside the cells by metabolism
Negative feedback mechanism diagram
Thermoregulation is an example of negative feedback; the 'factor' here is temperature, the 'stimulus' is
a change in internal body temperature, and the 'corrective mechanisms' are the action of effectors that
control heat generation and loss
Examples of effectors involved with temperature change include:
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The hypothalamus
Regulates secretion of a hormone called thyrotropin-releasing hormone
Thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulates the pituitary gland to release thyroid-stimulating Your notes
hormone
Thyroid-stimulation hormone stimulates the thyroid gland to release thyroxin
Thyroxin increases metabolic rate
Altering the level of thyroxin alters heat generation by cell metabolism, aiding regulation
of body temperature
Muscle tissue
Shivering in the muscles raises the metabolic rate of muscle cells, releasing heat energy
Adipose tissue
White adipose tissue stores lipids in a layer beneath the skin and around the internal organs,
providing insulation that aids temperature regulation
Brown adipose tissue can generate heat energy before shivering begins in the muscles; this is
known as non-shivering thermogenesis
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Mechanisms of Thermoregulation
Internal body temperature is a key factor that needs to be controlled in homeostasis Your notes
A stable core temperature is vital for enzyme activity, e.g. human enzymes have evolved to
function optimally at a core body temperature of about 37 °C
Lower temperatures either prevent reactions from proceeding or slow them down:
At lower temperatures molecules have little kinetic energy, so collisions are infrequent
and few enzyme-substrate complexes form
Temperatures that are too high can cause enzymes to denature, meaning that they lose their
tertiary structure and enzyme-substrate complexes can no longer form
Endotherms are animals that maintain a constant internal body temperature, e.g. mammals and birds
Mammals and birds can regulate their body temperature using:
Physiological mechanisms, such as shivering and altered metabolism
Behavioural mechanisms, such as seeking the shade of an underground burrow, or sunbathing
Thermoregulation in humans
Endothermic animals detect external temperatures via peripheral receptors, e.g. thermoreceptors
found in the skin
There are receptors for both heat and cold
These communicate with the hypothalamus to bring about a physiological response to changing
external temperatures
Human skin contains a variety of structures that are involved in processes that can increase or reduce
heat loss to the environment
Skin structure diagram
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Your notes
Human skin contains structures that are involved with monitoring and responding to temperature
change
Human responses to an increase in temperature
Vasodilation
Arterioles (small vessels that connect arteries to the skin capillaries) have muscles in their walls
that can relax or contract to allow more or less blood to flow through them
During vasodilation these muscles relax, causing the arterioles near the skin to dilate and allowing
more blood to flow through skin capillaries
The increased blood flow to the skin means that more heat is lost to the environment by radiation
from the skin surface
Sweating
Sweat is secreted by sweat glands
This cools the skin by evaporation which uses heat energy from the body to convert liquid water
into water vapour
Flattening of hairs
The hair erector muscles in the skin relax, causing hairs to lie flat
This stops the hairs from forming an insulating layer of air and allows air to circulate over skin,
meaning that heat energy lost by radiation can be moved away from the skin surface
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Increasing heat loss via the skin diagram
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The skin responds to high temperatures with vasodilation, sweating, and relaxation of hair erector
muscles
Human responses to a decrease in temperature
Vasoconstriction
During vasoconstriction the muscles in the arteriole walls contract, causing the arterioles near the
skin to constrict and allowing less blood to flow through capillaries
Instead, the blood is diverted through shunt vessels, which are deeper in the skin and
therefore do not lose heat to the environment
The reduction in blood flow to the skin surface means that less heat energy is lost by radiation
Erection of hairs
The hair erector muscles in the skin contract, causing hairs to stand on end
This forms an insulating layer over the skin's surface by trapping air between the hairs and stops
heat from being lost by radiation
Humans have very little hair on their skin, so this response is less effective than it would have
been in their evolutionary ancestors
Reducing heat loss via the skin diagram
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Your notes
The skin responds to low temperatures by vasoconstriction and the contraction of hair erector muscles
Shivering
Muscles contract and relax rapidly
The metabolic reactions required to power shivering generate sufficient heat to warm the blood
and raise the core body temperature
Uncoupled respiration in brown adipose tissue
The reactions of respiration are usually said to be 'coupled' with ATP production, meaning that
most of the energy released from carbon compounds is used to generate ATP
The 'uncoupling' of respiration from ATP production means that all of the energy released from
metabolism is released as heat, and ATP is not produced
This can occur in brown adipose tissue where lipids are metabolised to release heat energy
This process occurs mainly in newborn infants, who cannot shiver so rely on this non-shivering
thermogenesis
Boosting metabolic rate
Most of the metabolic reactions in the body release heat
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The hormone thyroxine is released from the thyroid gland, and acts to increase the basal metabolic
rate (BMR), increasing heat production in the body
Your notes
Thermoregulation negative feedback diagram
Thermoregulation is an example of negative feedback
Examiner Tip
Remember that vasodilation and vasoconstriction are caused by the relaxing and contracting of
muscles in the arterioles, not the capillaries; capillaries do not have muscles in their walls
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