Homeostasis or Osmoregulation, Homeostatic Process and the Parts Involved in Homeostatis

Homeostasis is defined as the maintenance of a fairly constant internal environment in an organism. All living organisms must be able to maintain a steady environment. Body fluid such as blood, lymph and tissue fluids make up the internal environment of the organism. 


The internal environment must be kept fairly constant for the healthy growth and efficient functioning of body cells. A living organism must be able to adjust to any change in the physical and chemical conditions of its body fluids. Some of the conditions are:

• body temperature
• pH (hydrogen ion concentration)
• osmotic pressure
• concentration of dissolved substances in the body (e.g. glucose) and mineral ions (e.g. sodium)

HOMEOSTATIC PROCESSES

Control mechanisms are often used to detect and adjust changes in the internal environment of an organism. Usually, sensory detectors recognize a change in a given condition and stimulate the relevant body parts involved in control.

These parts receive the signals, interpret them and send out instructions to the appropriate effector organs or glands to react and restore the normal state. Such control mechanisms are known as homeostatic processes.

PARTS INVOLVED IN HOMEOSTASIS 

The main parts of the body involved in homeostasis are:

1. Kidneys

2. Liver

3. Skin

4. Hormones

5. Brain

Click on each of them to know more about them.

Categories: Biology, Homeostatis, Osmoregulation