Homeostasis is a biological process through which organisms tend to maintain their stability by adjusting to conditions necessary for their survival. The process involves maintaining the dynamic environmental qualities rather than trying to maintain internal conditions. Homeostasis maintains environmental conditions through various mechanisms. In the body's internal parts, conditions keep changing because of a host of factors (Herzig & Shaw, 2018). The number of fluids in the body also changes over time, depending on the external conditions. In essence, the internal environment is highly dependent on external conditions. The internal elements cannot independently control their status, hence the homeostasis role's importance in controlling external conditions. Homeostasis maintains a stable internal atmosphere, critical for effective body functioning. In performing this role, the body must make various modifications regarding the external environmental factors. Homeostasis involves three key elements: the control center, receptor, and the effector, to ensure that the regulation function is executed (Herzig & Shaw, 2018). The receptor receives information from the external links; the control center then directs how the effector should react to the external environment. Internal temperatures always keep changing within a general range, thus making homeostasis a function responsible for maintaining the environmental qualities. For instance, taking a morning run alters one's temperatures as people feel warmer after exercising (Herzig & Shaw, 2018). Consequently, one could also experience sweating, thus lowering the body's body temperatures and water levels. In essence, body temperatures and water levels are not set at a specific or constant level; hence homeostasis ensures they are within a dynamic range by controlling environmental conditions.
A set point rather than a wide range of values could be detrimental in maintaining body stability. This fete cannot be achieved as the body is always on constant changes. The body also keeps responding to internal and external stimuli, thus altering the body temperatures and body conditions. In essence, maintaining a set point implies that external environmental changes cannot be incorporated into the body conditions (Herzig & Shaw, 2018). For instance, after taking a morning run, the temperatures rise to account for the increased body action. However, when working with set points, such environmental changes cannot be accounted for, implying that other body parts could be affected detrimentally.
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Endocrine plays a critical role in the homeostatic balance. The body endocrine also uses various hormones to control and coordinate the internal body metabolism, reproduction, development, and energy levels. The hormones are also responsible for maintaining environmental factors and response to stress and injury (Herzig & Shaw, 2018). Some of the most important hormones in homeostasis are insulin and glucagon hormones. The insulin hormone is produced in the pancreas and is involved in lowering the body's blood sugar and stimulation fat, glucose, and protein metabolic action (Roder et al., 2016). The pancreas is involved in the secretion of both glucagon and insulin, which work together in ensuring a balance in blood sugar levels. By working together, glucagon and insulin maintain a homeostatic condition, ensuring steady body conditions (Herzig & Shaw, 2018). When the blood sugar rises above the normal ranges, the pancreas responds through the secretion of insulin, and consequently, when the levels drop, it responds through the release of glucagon. The balance in sugar levels by glucagon and insulin helps in providing sufficient energy while also preventing nerve damage that could result from high blood sugar levels.
Glucagon and insulin hormones can be disrupted if the pancreas secrets them in excessive or limited amounts. The disruption of glucagon and insulin hormones could result in detrimental outcomes for the body. For instance, when the pancreas produces inadequate insulin, there is an increase in blood sugar levels. Consequently, body cells fail to receive the adequate energy necessary for normal body functioning (Roder et al., 2016). In essence, insulin is critical in the body's metabolic action; hence its disruption makes the body weak. The body is also unable to store energy for future use, thus altering normal body functioning. The disturbances also result in metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes mellitus.
The human body adapts to changes in environmental conditions and stresses in various biological ways. When humans move to another planet, their bodies can adapt to the hot temperatures and other environmental conditions, thus maintaining homeostasis. If the temperatures in such planets are extremely low, the body reacts by inducing shivering, thus helping muscles produce heat (Herzig & Shaw, 2018). On the contrary, if the temperatures are high, the body will produce sweat and start flushing blood towards the skin surface. Through such mechanisms, the body can regulate its temperatures.
Homeostasis entails an organism's ability to maintain its internal conditions within the right levels during external conditions changes. The body's ability to regulate its internal conditions provides organisms with massive freedom to be independent of the external environment. In essence, organisms can exist in any conditions without depending relying on the existing conditions. Without this ability, organisms would be unable to function under extreme conditions. For instance, it would be impossible for people to work in winters, as their bodies would face huge difficulties in surviving in severe conditions. However, with homeostasis, the bodies can control their internal conditions without help from the external environment. Homeostasis also enables organisms to survive in any environment. Unlike non-living organisms like water, which are adversely affected by temperature conditions, living organisms can easily adapt to the existing environmental conditions through metabolic action (Herzig & Shaw, 2018). Without the body's homeostasis functions, an organism would easily face extremities like non-living organisms. For instance, the body can control sugar and salt levels without depending on the existing environmental conditions.
Various factors lead to the failure of an organism's homeostasis. Such forces result in homeostatic imbalance, thus causing a host of organs or tissues' failure depending on homeostasis. When the body cells fail to work in the desired manner, their homeostatic balance is disrupted. The resulting imbalance could lead to the emergence of diseases and cellular malfunction (Racgdaoui & Sarkar, 2017). These two conditions are caused by deficiencies and toxicities whereby the cells get less or over what they ought to use. Environmental conditions and lifestyle choices are perfect examples of forces that, in excess, can disrupt the homeostatic balance, thus leading to failure. For instance, a lifestyle behavior like drug abuse could affect the body's homeostatic balance. Exposure to toxins, synthetic and natural like plants, animal bites, air pollution, and plants, could lead to extremities in the body's functioning. When exposed to excessive alcohol, the body cannot regulate the water levels, thus leading to organ failure and disrupting normal body functioning. Alcohol intoxication leads to hormonal disturbances, disrupting the body's capacity to ensure homeostatic balance. Consequently, such situations lead to various disorders like reproductive deficits, cancers, behavioral disorders, psychosocial disorders, immune dysfunction, and cardiovascular diseases (Racgdaoui & Sarkar, 2017). Excessive sugar consumption could also lead to the intoxication of homeostatic hormones like insulin and glucagon. With extremities in such hormones, the body cannot produce adequate energy or produces less energy, leading to the development of diabetes or other conditions.
Homeostasis is critical during the pregnancy period. During this period, the mother's energy levels are dramatically altered. Metabolism of lipids, vitamins, nutrients, amino acids, and carbohydrates is also altered to maintain fetal and maternal homeostasis. Without adequate homeostasis, fetal health and metabolism can be altered, thus endangering their lives and those of their mothers (Racgdaoui & Sarkar, 2017). Dysregulation of the pregnancy homeostatic controls could result in severe disorders. Pregnancy complications and deaths result from homeostatic imbalances during the pregnancy period. Hypertensive disorders could also result from poor homeostatic conditions during pregnancy.
References
Herzig, S., & Shaw, R. J. (2018). AMPK: guardian of metabolism and mitochondrial homeostasis. Nature reviews Molecular cell biology , 19 (2), 121. https://www.nature.com/articles/nrm.2017.95.pdf?origin=ppub
Racgdaoui, N. & Sarkar, D. K. (2017). Pathophysiology of the effects of alcohol abuse on the endocrine system. Alcohol Research. https://arcr.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-organ-interactions-injury-and-repair/pathophysiology-effects-alcohol-abuse-endocrine-system#:~:text=Alcohol%20intoxication%20induces%20hormonal%20disturbances,and%20psychological%20and%20behavioral%20disorders .
Roder, P. V. Wu, B. Liu, Y. & Han, W. (2016). Pancreas regulation of glucose homeostasis. NCBI https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4892884/
