Why the system is important?
The purpose of osmoregulation is to maintain a constant, optimal osmotic pressure within the body or cell. (Biology online, 2009). It allows the body to maintain a suitable concentration of solutes and of water in body fluids. Water is needed in the body for the reasons mentioned above such as providing trasport of substances, acting as a solvent and for use in evaporative cooling mechanisms. This means as humans we must maintain an optimum level of water in the body in order to allow these processes to be carried out effectively and efficiently when needed. Due to the fact that animal cells do not have cell walls, control of water is also important to maintain the health of cells. If too much water entered cells …show more content…
This can cause cells to burst in any part of the body and is particularly dangerous in the brain where there is a limited amount of space for cells to swell (Ballantyne, 2007). If too much water enters cells in the brain and they swell, a brain herniation can occur where brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid and blood vessels are pushed away from their usual positions inside the skull (Medline plus, 2016), this causes several severe effects such as loss of consciousness, seizures and death as blood vessels in particular can become compressed, causing brain bleeds which further increase the pressure on the brain, causing cells to burst (and stop functioning) or be so compressed that they become greatly damaged (Medline plus, 2016). If we have too little water in our bodies, the blood will beome hypertonic to the environment in surrounding cells, causing water to leave cells and enter the blood by osmosis, this makes cells shrivel and potential die or become unable to carry out their functions. As cells become dehydrated they increase their coating of cholestrol which is designed to help the cell retain water. However if dehydration is not addressed (osmoregulation did not occur), this coating can create a barrier, causing the cell to become unable to communicate with
The purpose of osmoregulation is to maintain a constant, optimal osmotic pressure within the body or cell. (Biology online, 2009). It allows the body to maintain a suitable concentration of solutes and of water in body fluids. Water is needed in the body for the reasons mentioned above such as providing trasport of substances, acting as a solvent and for use in evaporative cooling mechanisms. This means as humans we must maintain an optimum level of water in the body in order to allow these processes to be carried out effectively and efficiently when needed. Due to the fact that animal cells do not have cell walls, control of water is also important to maintain the health of cells. If too much water entered cells …show more content…
This can cause cells to burst in any part of the body and is particularly dangerous in the brain where there is a limited amount of space for cells to swell (Ballantyne, 2007). If too much water enters cells in the brain and they swell, a brain herniation can occur where brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid and blood vessels are pushed away from their usual positions inside the skull (Medline plus, 2016), this causes several severe effects such as loss of consciousness, seizures and death as blood vessels in particular can become compressed, causing brain bleeds which further increase the pressure on the brain, causing cells to burst (and stop functioning) or be so compressed that they become greatly damaged (Medline plus, 2016). If we have too little water in our bodies, the blood will beome hypertonic to the environment in surrounding cells, causing water to leave cells and enter the blood by osmosis, this makes cells shrivel and potential die or become unable to carry out their functions. As cells become dehydrated they increase their coating of cholestrol which is designed to help the cell retain water. However if dehydration is not addressed (osmoregulation did not occur), this coating can create a barrier, causing the cell to become unable to communicate with