Homeostasis: Maintaining Stability for Body Performance and Survival

Running head: HOMEOSTASIS
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Homeostasis
Name
Institutional Affiliation

HOMEOSTASIS 2
HOMEOSTASIS
Introduction
Homeostasis is a state of equilibrium in the internal physical and chemical conditions of a
body, it involves the maintenance of stability while adjusting to conditions which are optimal for
body performance and survival due to the dynamic internal and external environments (Piko &
Brassai 2016). Unsuccessful homeostasis may lead to disorders, diseases or death.
Body
Control of homeostasis.
The environmental changes are detected by the receptor senses which sends the signal to the
brain which in turn generates responses to the affecters which will perform the necessary
response (Gianaros & Wager 2015). Maintenance of the homeostasis is done majorly by the
negative feedback with positive feedback pushing the body further from the set range of
conditions. The whole process is under the control of the nervous system and the endocrine
systems of the body (Sidossis & Kajimura 2015). Body temperature, blood sugar level, body
fluid balance, pH of the extracellular fluid, the concentration of the ions of sodium, potassium,
and calcium are among the variables which must be kept under homeostasis (Cohen & Hull
2018).
Body system associated with homeostasis
Digestive system

HOMEOSTASIS 3
The liver produces the plasma proteins and acts as a storage of glucose in the form of
glycogen. When the blood glucose level falls, it releases glucose hence maintaining blood
glucose levels in range (Maschmeyer et al. 2015). The pancreas secretes insulin which is
responsible for converting glucose to glycogen for storage in liver.it also produces glucagon
which induces conversion of glycogen into glucose by the liver, these two mechanisms are vital
in maintaining blood sugar homeostasis.
In the case study of James, the body was unable to function normally due to the destruction of
the liver organ by the disease, liver cirrhosis. The liver extracts glucose from the blood, after the
means and stores it in the form of glycogen. During the decline of glucose in the blood, the liver
releases glucose (Sherwood 2015). It also produces bile which is an enzyme responsible for the
digestion of the lipids, it is stored in the gall bladder and it is released to the duodenum through
the bile duct. The sphincter of Oddi controls the release of the bile into the duodenum the
enzyme emulsifies the lipids in food and aggregating around fat droplets thus avoiding them
from re-aggregating to larger particles (Vítek, & Haluzík 2016). The liver cirrhosis makes the
liver to form scar tissues know as fibrosis which in turn blocks the bile flow through the bile
ducts hence the bile is not released to the duodenum or stored, moreover, it affects the ability of
the liver to normally extract bile salt hence it cannot enough bile for digestive purposes (Carey,
Ali & Lindor 2015).
Maintenance of blood sugar level