A Biology Report on Homeostasis and Its Role in Thermoregulation

This report provides an overview of homeostasis, the process by which organisms maintain a stable internal environment. It emphasizes the importance of homeostasis in regulating body temperature, also known as thermoregulation. The report explains how the hypothalamus in the brain controls body temperature through negative feedback mechanisms, including the constriction of blood vessels and shivering. It also discusses conditions like hypothermia, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke, which arise from disruptions in thermoregulation. The report highlights the role of various systems such as the endocrine, respiratory, and nervous systems, in maintaining homeostasis. Furthermore, the report includes references to relevant scientific literature that supports the concepts presented.

Running head: HOMEOSTASIS
Homeostasis
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1HOMEOSTASIS
Homeostasis
Homeostasis is a process by which organism maintains a stable internal, chemical and
physical condition regardless of the variations that takes place outside the body. The body
needs to screen its internal state continuously, in order to uphold the homeostasis condition.
The mechanism of the body has a particular set point which needs to be maintained in order
to lead a healthy life (Modell et al., 2015). The brain regulates these function and helps in
maintance of the stable condition.
Importance of Homeostasis in maintaining body temperature
The process helps in controlling the normal mechanism of the body such as
maintaining the body temperature, blood pressure, level of water, nutrition. The system needs
to be controlled because disruption of the condition may lead to body imbalance, disrupted
function and development of diseases (Osilla & Sharma, 2019).
The process of maintaining the normal body function is known as thermoregulation.
The body controls temperature by corresponding the heat created and heat loss by and from
the body by different receptors. The mammals are called endotherms or warm-blooded
animals as it maintains its temperature at around 35-40 degrees. The loss of this mechanism
leads to hypothermia condition which might be life-threatening for organism. Several other
conditions are heat exhaustion where the body temperature rises giving an uneasy condition
of the body, heat stroke where the body temperature rises more then 41 degree. The process is
maintained by many other system such as chemical regulation, osmoregulation and
thermoregulation by combining with endocrine system, respiratory system and nervous
system (McFarland et al., 2017).

2HOMEOSTASIS
The steps in controlling the body temperature in response to decrease external
temperature
The body temperature is regulated by the hypothamalus in the brain which
continuously governs that internal state. The brain receives the signals by the thermoreceptors
present in the skin. The receptors of the hypothamalus detects the state of the temperature and
accordingly positive and negetative feedback takes place. The steps of negative feedback are
stimulus, sensor, control and effector. In order to set the temperature within the normal range,
the body temperature needs to be brought down. The hypothamalus identifies the changes and
delivers the impulse to the organs to carry out the variations. The blood vessels gets
constricted for preserving the heat as well as shivering mechanism take place that will lead to
involuntary muscle contraction resulting in warmness of the body and finally heat retaintion.
The heat loss will be less from the body by radiation, convection and conduction (Goldstein
& Kopin, 2017).

3HOMEOSTASIS
References
Goldstein, D. S., & Kopin, I. J. (2017). Homeostatic systems, biocybernetics, and autonomic
neuroscience. Autonomic neuroscience : basic & clinical, 208, 15–28.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autneu.2017.09.001
McFarland, J. L., Price, R. M., Wenderoth, M. P., Martinková, P., Cliff, W., Michael, J.,
Modell, H., & Wright, A. (2017). Development and Validation of the Homeostasis
Concept Inventory. CBE life sciences education, 16(2), ar35.
https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-10-0305
Modell, H., Cliff, W., Michael, J., McFarland, J., Wenderoth, M. P., & Wright, A. (2015). A
physiologist's view of homeostasis. Advances in physiology education, 39(4), 259–
266. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00107.2015
Osilla, E. V., & Sharma, S. (2019). Physiology, Temperature Regulation. In StatPearls
[Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.