Homeostasis is a process in which the body maintains a stable state by balancing internal and external factors. The main components of this process are microbial communities and the microbiome, a group of bacteria that keeps animals in good health. One example is the microbiome of a young animal, which is acquired from its parents. The bugs that make up the microbiome help the young animal survive. Another example is salt licks, which provide minerals to animals that need them. Animals not provided with the right bugs seek them out from other sources. Big Bone Lick State Park has a salt lick, rich in minerals and has been inhabited by mammoths.
Functions
Homeostasis maintains a controlled internal environment where the body’s functions are balanced. This is possible despite the constant fluctuations in the outside world. Homeostasis is achieved through regulating the internal environment by different organ systems, which communicate with the brain to regulate energy and regain balance.
Homeostasis is important for the health of plants and animals. For example, plants need water and oxygen to grow and develop. If these resources are insufficient, plants will begin to wilt. The same holds for the body’s temperature, which fluctuates daily. Fortunately, technology has made it easier to regulate our body’s temperature.
The body’s homeostatic systems also help to keep chronic diseases under control. This is possible because the body’s nervous system detects deviations from its normal range and reports them back to a control centre. This control centre then directs various muscles, organs, and glands to adjust accordingly. This cycle of adjustment and disturbance is known as negative feedback.
Mechanisms
Homeostasis is a state in which the body’s systems maintain balance. The hormonal system and nervous system control this process. Various types of mechanisms maintain homeostasis, including biological and behavioural responses. For example, a behavioural response can help an animal cope with a change in water availability.
Maintaining internal balance and physical well-being is the fundamental basis of health and disease. It is necessary for survival and is one of the most important evolutionary advantages. The human body is an amazingly complex machine with many processes and parts involved in homeostasis. Proteins, for example, are the building blocks of the human body.
Processes involved
Homeostasis is an automated process that helps our bodies to maintain stability and optimum conditions for survival. When homeostasis fails, we may face disaster or even death. Homeostasis involves a variety of processes. Physiological processes such as feedback control, integration, and coordination of function are all involved in maintaining balance.
To achieve homeostasis, many body variables must be kept within a certain range, including blood glucose, blood pressure, and core body temperature. Two effector processes control these parameters: neural signalling and hormone secretion. Each of these has different targets and varies in the speed of response.
For example, our body temperature decreases in winter, and our thermoreceptors report this to our preoptic and anterior hypothalamus. These brain centres then initiate control mechanisms that restore our core body temperature to a set point. In hot weather, our body temperature increases, and we correct this by dissipating the excess heat.
Interactions with the external environment
Homeostasis is a process that allows our body to maintain equilibrium around a set point. In response to a change in our environment, our body systems will try to return to that set point and avoid imbalance. These systems use sensors, integrating centres, and effectors to regulate their internal environments. These processes can use positive feedback and negative feedback. Positive feedback regulates a variable’s output, while negative feedback reduces and returns the system to its normal range. Most homeostatic processes use negative feedback regulation. The negative feedback mechanism works to maintain a particular parameter in a set range and is used to control other processes.
The body uses negative feedback to keep its internal temperature within a certain range. For example, when your blood temperature falls, your nerve cells send a signal to the hypothalamus, which then sends signals to several effectors that return your body temperature to a normal range. If your blood pressure drops below a certain level, your kidneys respond by retaining and releasing water.
