BIO-201: Human Anatomy and Physiology I – Topic 1 DQ 1

Assessment Description:

Give an example of a disease or injury and explain how it is an example of the body being outside of homeostasis.

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SOLUTION to BIO-201: Human Anatomy and Physiology I - Topic 1 DQ 1.

SAMPLE 1

Hello everyone,

Diabetes Mellitus exemplifies a state where the body is essentially out of homeostasis. Homeostasis is about the body’s internal environment staying fairly constant despite changes in the external environment. One significant component of this relationship is glycaemic control or blood sugar regulation done mainly by the hormone insulin from the pancreas. Lewis et al. (2021) state that in a healthy individual, when blood glucose concentration is high due to the consumption of carbohydrates, insulin is produced in the pancreas to help transport glucose into cells to be used as energy or stored as glycogen in the liver. This process brings blood glucose concentration back to normal. On the other hand, low blood glucose level triggers, the secretion of glucagon from the pancreas, which signals the liver to release the stored glucose and consequently increases blood glucose level to normal.

In the case of Diabetes Mellitus, this body regulatory system is affected. There are two main types of diabetes: Type one and type two. In Type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system reduces the production of insulin by attacking the insulin producing cells in the pancreas. In the absence of insulin, glucose does not get into the cells; it remains in the bloodstream and causes hyperglycemia. Type two diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance, in which the cells of the body cannot respond appropriately to the insulin hormone. At first, the pancreas responds to the increased blood sugar level by producing more insulin but the organ is unable to do it forever and blood sugar rises.

Both conditions describe a disruption in the homeostatic maintenance of blood glucose levels. According to Babel et al. (2021), hyperglycemia has various long-term consequences, which include neuropathy, nephropathy and cardiovascular diseases. Such complications develop because blood vessels and nerves can get affected when a person has high blood sugar levels. Generally, diabetes mellitus is a disease that affects the regulation of blood glucose level and is accompanied by hyperglycaemia, which in chronic cases lead to severe complications.

References

Babel, R. A., & Dandekar, M. P. (2021). A review on cellular and molecular mechanisms linked to the development of diabetes complications. Current Diabetes Reviews17(4), 457-473. https://doi.org/10.2174/1573399816666201103143818

Lewis, G. F., Carpentier, A. C., Pereira, S., Hahn, M., & Giacca, A. (2021). Direct and indirect control of hepatic glucose production by insulin. Cell Metabolism33(4), 709-720. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2021.03.007

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