TOPIC 5

Homeostasis:
Thermoregulation and osmoregulation

Although the outside environment of an organism may change, eg. becomes hotter or
cold or drier, the internal environment in which body cells live must be kept constant.
Many chemical reactions occur within cell controlled by substances called enzymes.
Any slight change in the conditions can slow down or stop enzymes from working, so it is
important that temperature, pH and water content are kept as steady as possible

The maintenance of a constant internal environment is called homeostasis.

The brain has the overall control of the body processes. Homeostasis is controlled by
feedback mechanisms.

When a particular condition such as body temperature, gets too great, a corrective
mechanism decreases it and returns it to the normal value. When the condition gets
too small, the corrective mechanism increases it and returns it to the normal value.

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The control of body temperature is an example of homeostasis. The blood provides the
feedback to the brain.

The organs of homeostasis are:

1. The skin
It keeps the body within 10C either side of 370C.

2. The liver
It controls waste products formed inside the body, such as the removal of bile pigments
from the breakdown of haemoglobin in worn out red cells, and the deamination of
amino acids (breakdown of unwanted proteins and amino acids)

3. The pancreas
It controls the amount of glucose in blood and tissue fluid

4. The kidneys
Keep blood and tissue fluid clean by removing nitrogenous wastes. This controls the
amounts of dissolved substances in the blood and tissue fluid, a process called
osmoregulation.

5. The lungs
They regulate the level of carbon dioxide in the blood

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TEMPERATURE CONTROL BY LIVING ORGANISMS

The temperature can vary a great deal between different parts of the world.

1. In the polar regions (arctic and antartic regions), the temperature is below 00C for
most of the year and the ground is frozen for long periods. Vegetation is very very
scarce, few land animals live here, but the surrounding sea contains an
abundance of plankton, fish and whales.

2. In temperate regions (like Malta) the winters are generally fairly mild. The plants
have various ways of getting through the winter. The trees are either evergreens
with tough, needle-like leaves or deciduous trees which lose their leaves in winter.
Herbaceous plants die back, leaving underground storage organs or resistant
seeds which give rise to new plants next spring. Some animals hibernate or migrate
in the winter.

3. In the tropics, the temperature is mostly between 200C and 300C. It is hotter and
shows less variation during the year as you get closer to the equator. In such
conditions the animals and plants can be active the whole year round, provided
that other conditions are suitable.

The organ of temperature control in mammals is the skin.

THE SKIN

The skin plays an important part in homeostasis, particularly temperature regulation.

Structure of the skin

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The skin is divided into 2 main layers :

1. A thin epidermis

• This is made up of layers of cells like a brick

wall. New cells are constantly being
formed by the bottom layer and they push
older ones towards the surface.

• As the cells are pushed upwards, they

become flat and hard and eventually die,
forming a dead layer of skin at the surface
which constantly flakes off.

• Epidermal cells contain keratin (same

substance as found in the scales of reptiles
and feathers of birds) which makes the skin waterproof and protective.

• The epidermis also contains a dark pigment called melanin which protects the
organism from harmful UV rays

2. The dermis

• It is composed of tough connective tissue fibres amongst which are blood

capillaries and sense organs. Towards the bottom of the dermis there are sweat
glands from which sweat ducts run to the surface of the skin.

• Sticking out of the skin are hairs. The root of the hair is found in a hollow called
the hair follicle found deep in the dermis. Hairs are made of keratin.

• Opening into hair follicles are glands which produce oil to keep the hair supple
and help make the skin waterproof.

• A thin muscle runs from the side of each hair to the base of the epidermis. When
this erector muscle contracts, the hair stands upright. When it relaxes, the hair lies
down flat. This is important in temperature control.

• Below the dermis is a layer of fat cells which varies in thickness from one part of
the body to another.

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Function of the skin

The skin has 6 main functions:

• It protects the body from physical damage (epidermis, keratinised hairs)
• It protects the body from harmful UV rays (melanin)
• It prevents germs entering the body (keratinised epidermis)
• It may help to camouflage the animal (hair)
• It makes the body waterproof (keratinized epidermis, oil)
• It is sensitive to stimuli (receptors sensitive to touch, pain, temperature and pressure)
• It insulates the body (hair, subcutaneous fat)

Temperature regulation - endotherms and ectotherms

Mammals and birds are endotherms.

The body temperature of a mammal is maintained at approximately 370C. This is the

temperature at which enzymes work best. Temperature is maintained at a steady value
by a combination of physiological and behavioural adaptations.

If the environmental temperature is low:

• Goose pimples: The hairs are raised, trapping air which

insulates the body. Hair erector muscles contract pulling
hairs up so that more air is trapped reducing heat loss. In
humans, due to the reduced amount of hair present goose
pimples are observed.

• Vasoconstriction: Blood is held back from the surface of the skin by constriction
(narrowing) of the superficial blood vessels, so less heat is lost.

• Shivering: Extra heat is generated by the muscles, either voluntarily or involuntarily.

• Blubber: Animals living in very cold regions, such as polar

bears and seals have the ability to store a very thick layer of
fat under the skin to reduce heat loss. This layer is called
blubber.

• Huddling – animals huddle close to each other to share

body heat. This is a behavioural adaptation.

If the environmental temperature is high:

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 • The hairs are lowered, thus getting rid of the insulating air.

• Vasodilation: Blood flows close to the surface of the skin by dilation (widening) of
the superficial blood vessels, so more heat is lost.

• Sweating or panting: evaporation of water cools the skin and the blood flowing
through it.

• Nocturnal activity: some desert animals avoid the heat of the sun by limiting their
activities to during the night (behavioural adaptation).

• Living in burrows: This helps animals from overheating when the temperature is too
hot (behavioural adaptation).

• Sitting with their abdomen flat on the ground to lose heat

(behavioural adaptation)..

• Panting and sweating to remove heat by evaporation.

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Hibernation in mammals

When temperatures are so low and food is unavailable, certain species of small
mammals may become torpid. The body cools down to approximately the same
temperature as the surroundings. Protected sites are chosen and the animals often
huddle together.
Negative feedback

Negative feedback regulates body temperature in warm-blooded animals

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To keep a constant internal environment, it is necessary to have receptors (sensors) in
the body to detect when the environment fluctuates too far either side of the required
state. Then there must be a mechanism to return the conditions to normal.

A system which automatically brings about a correction, regardless which side of the
optimum the change has occurred, is called a negative feedback system.

Regulation of body temperature is an example of negative feedback

An ectotherm has a body temperature which is the same as that of the environment. It
can only control its body temperature by behavioural mechanisms such as basking in
the sun or cooling off in the shade.
All animals, apart from mammals and birds are ectotherms.
INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE WHICH FACTORS AFFECT HEAT LOSS

Apparatus

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4 test tubes, paper towels, sellotape, elastic bands, 4 thermometers, measuring cylinder,
hot water from water bath, test tube rack.

Method
1. Set up the tubes as follows.
Tube 1 – uncovered
Tube 2 – covered with paper towel – loosely wrapped with sellotape
Tube 3 – covered with paper towel – tightly wrapped with elastic bands
Tube 4 – covered with paper towel – tightly wrapped with elastic bands

2. Using plastic measuring cylinders, measure 40 ml of hot water into each of the 4
tubes, and carefully insert the thermometer. Leave it in for the whole of the experiment.

3. Tube 4 only: Pour 10 ml of hot water over the paper towel on the outside of the tube.

4. At 1-minute intervals, take the temperature of the water in each tube and record it in
the table.

5. Plot the results from 1 minute onwards as a graph. Join the points as appropriate, and
include a legend to identify the 4 curves.

Results
Tube number 1 2 3 4
Time after start / min Thermometer readings /  C
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Conclusion
1. What do you think are represented by the various coverings applied to the tubes?
2. What do you conclude by comparing tube 2 with tube 1 and tube 3 with tube 2?
4. What is the best tube to compare with tube 4?
5. What does this comparison tell you in the context of the human body, and
homeostasis?
6. Why did you put hot - not cold – water on the outside of tube 4?
OSMOREGULATION IN PROTISTS (single-celled animal-like organisms)

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 • In Amoeba living in sea water, the body fluids have approximately the same
concentration as the surrounding sea water, so there is no net movement of
water either into or out of the Amoeba.

• In Amoeba living in fresh water, the body fluids have a higher concentration of
solutes than the surrounding water, so water will flow into the body across its semi-
permeable membrane. If uncontrolled, this would cause the Amoeba to swell
and burst.

The amount of water in the cell is controlled by a process called osmoregulation.

The osmoregulatory organelle in Amoeba is the contractile vacuole.

• As water constantly enters the cell by osmosis, the water is actively collected into
the contractile vacuole.
• When the vacuole is full of water, it flows towards the cell membrane and fuses
(joins) with it, forming one whole membrane.
• When this happens, the water inside the contractile vacuole is expelled out of the
Amoeba, thus maintaining osmotic balance.

A fresh water Amoeba placed in sea water will lose its contractile vacuole and a sea-
water Amoeba placed in fresh water will ‘grow’ a contractile vacuole.

OSMOREGULATION IN HUMANS

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The body needs a constant amount of water in the cells. It has to balance the amount
of water it takes in with the amount it gets rid of.

When a person drinks a lot of fluid, he will need to urinate more. In hot weather or when
a person does not drink enough fluids, the blood becomes more concentrated, the
kidneys remove less water from it and makes a small amount of concentrated urine.

The amount of water in urine is controlled by a hormone called antidiuretic hormone

(ADH), made by the pituitary gland in the brain.

When you are thirsty: When you drink lots of fluids:

• Your blood becomes • Your blood becomes dilute
concentrated • No ADH is produced
• ADH is produced • The kidneys don’t reabsorb much
• Kidneys reabsorb more water from water from nephrons back to blood
the nephrons back into the blood • You make lots of dilute urine (clear
• You make a small amount of urine)
concentrated urine (dark colour)

The organs of osmoregulation in mammals are the kidneys.

THE KIDNEYS

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A mammal has 2 kidneys in the upper part of the abdominal
cavity, one on either side of the vertebral column, on the dorsal
side of the body. The left kidney is situated further forwards
(towards the head, ie, it is higher) than the right one.

The kidneys are bean-shaped with dimensions about 12cm X 6cm

X 3cm. Each kidney is covered by a tough transparent
membrane which fixes it to the dorsal abdominal wall. They are
surrounded by fat which protects the kidneys and maintain a
constant temperature around the kidneys.

The diagram shows how the waste chemicals like reach the kidneys via the
bloodstream. The kidneys take these chemicals out of the blood as it flows through
them and these chemicals are then excreted as urine.

(Urethral sphincter)

The kidneys are connected to the rest of the body by three vessels:
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 • The renal artery delivers oxygenated blood to the kidney, for purification, from the
aorta (from the heart)
• The renal vein carries deoxygenated but purified blood away from the kidney to
the vena cava (to the heart)
• The ureter is a muscular tube which carries urine away from the kidney to the
bladder.

The kidneys are responsible for excretion and osmoregulation in a mammal. They clean
the blood by removing the following substances:
• Soluble nitrogenous wastes, mainly urea
• Excess water
• Excess salts
• Excess hydrogen ions to keep the blood pH constant
• Foreign substances such as drugs, poisons, etc.
• Unwanted hormones

Internal structure of a kidney

If you cut open a kidney lengthways, you can see that a kidney is made of 2 areas:
• A dark outer area called the cortex, which contains glomeruli, Bowman’s capsules
and the coiled sections of the kidney tubules called nephrons

• A light inner area called the medulla which contains the straight sections of the
nephrons (kidney tubules). The innermost region of the medulla forms several
conical pyramids which contain the collecting ducts of the kidney tubules. The
pyramids open out into the pelvis of the kidney in which numerous ducts unite to
form the ureter.

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Function of the kidney

Each nephron consists of 2 sections, joined together:

1. Bowman’s capsule is bowl-shaped and is

the first part of the nephron. The walls of the
‘bowl’ are lined by a single layer of cells,
that is, the bowl consists of two layers of cells
with a space in between

2. A tube connecting Bowman’s capsule to its

collective duct. The wall of this tube is also
one cell thick. The tube is made of:
• the proximal convoluted tubule (first
coiled tubule), which is coiled to
increase the length and therefore the
surface area of the first part of the tubule
• the Loop of Henle, which is a u-shaped
loop
• the distal convoluted tubule, which is the second coiled tube

The tubule leads to a collecting duct which empties into the pelvis of the kidney via the
pyramid. The collecting ducts do not form part of the nephron as each collecting duct
receives the contents from various nephrons.
Filtration of blood
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 • Blood containing waste materials is brought to each kidney in the renal artery.
• The renal artery branches many times, each branch ending in a bunch of
capillaries called a glomerulus.
• The glomerulus is inside part of the nephron called the Bowman’s capsule
• The capillaries then carry blood away from each nephron
• The capillaries then join up and eventually form the renal vein

As the arteriole entering Bowman’s capsule before dividing many times has a larger
diameter than the arteriole leaving the capsule a very high pressure is generated inside
the Bowman’s capsule.

This pressure is large enough to force most of the plasma out through the capillary walls
of the glomerulus and into the cavity of the Bowman’s capsule. This process is called
ultrafiltration.

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Large molecules, like blood proteins, are too big to pass through the filter. Small
molecules, like urea, glucose, salts and water, pass out of the glomerulus and into the
nephron. The ‘cleaned’ blood leaves the kidney in the renal vein.

All the glucose, some salts and much of the water are needed by the body. They are
therefore reabsorbed back into the blood from the nephron. This process is called
selective reabsorption and takes place by active transport, so energy is needed for this
process. It takes place throughout the length of the tubule, each different region re-
absorbing different substances.

The remaining liquid then passes into the collecting duct. Each collecting duct receives
fluid from a number of nephrons. Along this region further reabsorption of water takes
place and the blood concentration is therefore controlled to a finer degree.

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 Region Substances re-absorbed Mechanism involved

Glucose Taken up by active transport

Amino acids against a concentration
Proximal convoluted Salts gradient. Energy is required
tubule
Water Taken up by osmosis

Loop of Henle Water Taken up by osmosis

Salts By active transport

Distal convoluted tubule Hydrogen ions By active transport

Water By osmosis

Collecting duct Water By osmosis

The fluid that remains moves slowly into the ureter. What is left is urea and waste salts
dissolved in water. This is now called urine, and it flows down the ureter to the bladder.

Urine consists of about:

• 96% water
• 2% urea
• 2% salts
• small amounts of other excretory substances such as inactive hormones and toxic
material, e.g. drugs.

Urine = urea + ions + toxins + water

A man produces on average about 1.5 litres of urine per day but the exact amount
and composition depends on the diet, activity and health of the individual.

The ureters from both kidneys drain their contents into an elastic muscular sac called
the bladder where urine is temporarily stored. The lower end of the bladder leads to a
tube called the urethra. The opening to the urethra is controlled by a circular band of
muscle called the urethral sphincter. Periodically, the bladder empties its contents to
the outside of the body. This is brought about by the voluntary control of muscle
contractions of the bladder wall and relaxation of the sphincter muscle.

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Kidney dialysis

If a person’s kidneys stop working properly (kidney failure), there will be a build-up of
urea and toxins in their blood which will eventually prove fatal. A kidney transplant may
be possible if a donor with a suitable tissue type is available. Otherwise, kidney dialysis
may be used.

A kidney dialysis machine removes chemicals with small molecules (urea, toxins and
ions) from a patient’s blood, but does not allow larger molecules, such as plasma
proteins, to leave the blood.

The blood is passed through dialysis tubing, which is placed in a bathing or washing
fluid. Only the small molecules in the blood can pass from the tubing into the fluid. The
fluid is continuously renewed, and washes away the substances removed from the
blood. By varying the concentration of substances in the washing fluid, the amounts of
those substances which leave the blood can be controlled. The concentration of
plasma in the blood can also be controlled in this way. The dialysed blood is then
returned to the patient.

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 DISSECTION OF A MAMMALIAN KIDNEY

1. Obtain a kidney of a mammal, such as a pig, from a butcher

2. With a sharp knife slice the kidney across the middle as shown in the diagram

3. Which of the parts shown in the diagram below can you see? Whereabouts
does urine leave the kidney? Where does the urine go after it has left the
kidney?

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 questions

Question 1

Question 2

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Question 3

Question 4

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 please turn over…

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Question 5

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Question 6

Question 7

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Question 8

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Question 9

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Question 10

Please turn over…

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Question 11

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Question 12

Please turn over…

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Question 13

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Question 14

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Question 15

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