7.

3 Maintenance of the body at rest, and in activity

Syllabus objectives

Discuss the concept of homeostasis and its importance in maintaining the body in a state of dynamic equilibrium during exercise, including the role of the hypothalamus and the mechanisms of thermoregulation. Explain the principle of negative feedback in maintaining systems within narrow limits.

Understand that cardiac muscle is myogenic and describe the normal electrical activity of the heart, including the roles of the sinoatrial node (SAN), the atrioventricular node (AVN) and the bundle of His, and how the use of electrocardiograms (ECGs) can aid the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other heart conditions. Explain how variations in ventilation and cardiac output enable rapid delivery of oxygen to tissues and the removal of carbon dioxide from them, including how the heart rate and ventilation rate are controlled and the roles of the cardiovascular control centre and the ventilation centre.

Syllabus objectives

Describe how to investigate the effects of exercise on tidal volume and breathing rate using data from spirometer traces.

Definition

the maintenance of a constant internal environment.

How is homeostasis achieved?

Negative feedback mechanism

Components of a negative feedback mechanism

The detectors are specialised cells either in the brain or in other organs, such as the pancreas. The effectors are organs such as the skin, liver and kidneys. Information passes between detectors and effectors via the nerves of the nervous system, or via hormones (the endocrine system), or both. The outcome is an incredibly precisely regulated internal environment.

Homeostasis in action control of body temperature

Heat may be transferred between an animal and the environment by convection, radiation and conduction, and the body loses heat in evaporation

Thermoregulation
The regulation of body temperature, known as thermoregulation consists of a heat loss centre and a heat gain centre temperature-sensitive nerve cells (neurones) are situated, and detect changes in the temperature of the blood flowing through the brain. The thermoregulation centre of the hypothalamus also receives information via sensory nerves from temperature-sensitive receptors located in the skin and in many internal organs.

How The hypothalamus communicates with the rest of the body

via the autonomic nervous system. For example, when the body temperature is lower than normal, the heat gain centre inhibits activity of the heat loss centre, and sends impulses

to the skin, To hair erector muscles, To sweat glands and elsewhere, that decrease heat loss (such as by causing vasoconstriction of skin capillaries) and increase heat production (by causing shivering, and enhanced brown fat respiration, for example).

The role of the skin in temperature regulation

role of capillaries in regulating heat loss through the skin

role of the sweat glands in regulating heat loss through the skin

role of the hair in regulating heat loss through the skin

Homeostasis in action regulation of cardiac output.

The heart beats rhythmically throughout life, without rest, apart from the momentary relaxation between beats. The heart beat is myogenic in origin.
The heart beat originates in a structure in the muscle of the wall of the right atrium, called the sino-atrial node (SAN), also known as the natural pacemaker. Muscle fibres radiating out from the SAN conduct impulses to the muscles of both atria, triggering atrial systole (contraction). Then a second node, the atrio-ventricular node, situated at the base of the right atrium picks up the excitation and passes it to the ventricles through modified muscle fibres, called the Purkinje fibres. Ventricular systole is then triggered.