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What Are The Key Components Of The Homeostatic System

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The purpose of homeostasis is the maintaining of an equilibrium (balance) inside the body. In other words it is how the human body responds to it’s environment. It is a constant process occurring in our bodies, for example when we eat, drink or exercise our body composition, which refers to the percentages of fat, bone and water in the body, and how they remain exactly the same. The key components of the homeostatic system are the receptor/ sensor, control centre, variable and the effector. The receptor is the sense organ that detects the change, the control centre is usually the brain or a certain section of the brain, and the effector, which produces the response to counteract the change. An example of a homeostatic system is blood glucose regulation. This works to ensure the body is at the set point it needs to be at, ensuring that the body is working optimally. In terms of blood glucose regulation that set point is 5mM. There are different internal and external factors that can affect the amount of glucose in the blood such as exercise, diet and hydration levels. …show more content…

In our body the blood glucose levels are regulated by a negative feedback system. The negative feedback system is a type of homeostatic system, and allows the body to maintain homeostasis. It detects changes, using the sensor, (which in glucose regulation is the pancreas recognizing the change in levels of glucose in the blood), caused by the stimulus. Then the control centre (pancreas) which is the response to the change, sends a message to the effector (liver) to counteract the change. The effector acts about to bring the body to its original set

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