Homeostasis - Blood Glucose Regulation
Homeostasis refers to the (relatively) constant physiological state of the body despite fluctuations in the external environment.
Homeostasis maintains a relatively constant physiological state by keeping functions such as temperature, blood pressure, pH levels, glucose concentration and many more of the body’s systems at safe levels. For example if a person has low or high blood sugar (hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia) their internal state is in danger possibly leading to seizures and going into a coma if blood glucose levels are low. If blood glucose is too high the long term affects are losing nutrients and damaging proteins, there are no serious short term affects. This is why homeostasis is so important, …show more content…
The islets of Langerhans enable the blood glucose level to be finely controlled. When blood glucose rises more insulin is released which stimulates body cells to absorb glucose, glucagon secretion also falls. Liver and muscle cells convert the glucose to glycogen for storage and other cells in the connective tissue called adipose cells convert glucose into fat. The opposite occurs when blood glucose rises, more glucagon is released from the liver and less insulin is secreted. Glucagon stimulates the liver and muscle to start the process that breaks up the glycogen and fat to release glucose. Insulin causes the decrease of blood glucose as it stimulates the body cells to absorb it. Glucagon increases blood glucose levels because the liver converts stored glycogen into glucose to be released. Blood glucose levels are self-correcting by using the negative feedback system; they counteract the change constantly in order to maintain a healthy internal …show more content…
Roughly about 1 in 300 New Zealanders have type 1 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is when insulin may be present but is unable to function. It usually develops later in life and is linked with obesity.
Type 1 Diabetes:
In a normal healthy person the pancreas responds to the glucose by releasing insulin, insulin is responsible for allowing glucose into the cells. When the glucose enters the cells the amount of glucose in the blood streams falls.
If you have type 1 diabetes the pancreas cannot secrete insulin which causes a build-up of glucose in the blood stream. Without insulin the glucose can’t get into the cell which means diabetic symptoms occur.
People with type 1 diabetes have no insulin as the Beta cells located in the pancreas are destroyed by an autoimmune reaction.
The autoimmune destruction of the pancreas happens over several years although the diseases symptoms can appear quite quickly over a few days or weeks. Symptoms are caused by high blood sugar. When blood glucose levels increase above 20mM glucose starts to spill over into the urine therefore people with high blood glucose tend to urinate a lot (polyuria). This is due to an osmotic balance where extra water starts to flow from the blood into the urine to compensate. Another symptom is excessive thirst (polydipsia) as you are losing water from urination. More symptoms include weight loss,
Homeostasis refers to the (relatively) constant physiological state of the body despite fluctuations in the external environment.
Homeostasis maintains a relatively constant physiological state by keeping functions such as temperature, blood pressure, pH levels, glucose concentration and many more of the body’s systems at safe levels. For example if a person has low or high blood sugar (hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia) their internal state is in danger possibly leading to seizures and going into a coma if blood glucose levels are low. If blood glucose is too high the long term affects are losing nutrients and damaging proteins, there are no serious short term affects. This is why homeostasis is so important, …show more content…
The islets of Langerhans enable the blood glucose level to be finely controlled. When blood glucose rises more insulin is released which stimulates body cells to absorb glucose, glucagon secretion also falls. Liver and muscle cells convert the glucose to glycogen for storage and other cells in the connective tissue called adipose cells convert glucose into fat. The opposite occurs when blood glucose rises, more glucagon is released from the liver and less insulin is secreted. Glucagon stimulates the liver and muscle to start the process that breaks up the glycogen and fat to release glucose. Insulin causes the decrease of blood glucose as it stimulates the body cells to absorb it. Glucagon increases blood glucose levels because the liver converts stored glycogen into glucose to be released. Blood glucose levels are self-correcting by using the negative feedback system; they counteract the change constantly in order to maintain a healthy internal …show more content…
Roughly about 1 in 300 New Zealanders have type 1 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is when insulin may be present but is unable to function. It usually develops later in life and is linked with obesity.
Type 1 Diabetes:
In a normal healthy person the pancreas responds to the glucose by releasing insulin, insulin is responsible for allowing glucose into the cells. When the glucose enters the cells the amount of glucose in the blood streams falls.
If you have type 1 diabetes the pancreas cannot secrete insulin which causes a build-up of glucose in the blood stream. Without insulin the glucose can’t get into the cell which means diabetic symptoms occur.
People with type 1 diabetes have no insulin as the Beta cells located in the pancreas are destroyed by an autoimmune reaction.
The autoimmune destruction of the pancreas happens over several years although the diseases symptoms can appear quite quickly over a few days or weeks. Symptoms are caused by high blood sugar. When blood glucose levels increase above 20mM glucose starts to spill over into the urine therefore people with high blood glucose tend to urinate a lot (polyuria). This is due to an osmotic balance where extra water starts to flow from the blood into the urine to compensate. Another symptom is excessive thirst (polydipsia) as you are losing water from urination. More symptoms include weight loss,