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AQA GCSE Biology Your notes
Hormones: Maintaining Blood Homeostasis

Contents
Homeostasis
Human Endocrine System
Control of Blood Glucose Concentration
Maintaining Water & Nitrogen Balance in the Body
Page 1 of 21
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Homeostasis
Your notes
Homeostasis: Basics
What is homeostasis in biology?
Homeostasis is the regulation of the internal conditions of a cell or organism to maintain optimum
conditions for function in response to internal and external changes
Homeostasis maintains optimal conditions for enzyme action and all cell functions
In the human body, these include control of:
Blood glucose concentration
Body temperature
Water levels
Control of Homeostasis
Maintaining controlled conditions within the body is under involuntary (automatic) control
This means that the brain stem (or non-conscious part of the brain) and the spinal cord are involved in
maintaining homeostasis – you don’t consciously maintain your body temperature or blood glucose
level
These automatic control systems may involve nervous responses or chemical responses
All control systems include:
Cells called receptors, which detect stimuli (changes in the environment)
Coordination centres (such as the brain, spinal cord and pancreas) that receive and process
information from receptors
Effectors (muscles or glands) which bring about responses which restore optimum levels
Page 2 of 21
Human Endocrine System

Your notes
Endocrine System Structure & Function
The human endocrine system is composed of glands which secrete chemicals called hormones
directly into the bloodstream
The blood carries the hormone around the body, and when it reaches a target cell/organ it produces an
effect
Compared to the nervous system the effects of hormones are slower but they act for longer
Important structures in the endocrine system are:
Pituitary gland: a ‘master gland’ making hormones such as FSH and LH
Pancreas: produces insulin which regulates the blood glucose level
Thyroid: produces thyroxine which controls metabolic rate and affects growth
Adrenal glands: produces adrenaline
Ovaries (females): produce oestrogen
Testes (males): produce testosterone
Page 3 of 21
Your notes
The major endocrine glands in the body secrete hormones which circulate around the body in the
bloodstream
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Page 4 of 21
Make sure you can recognise the structures listed in the diagram above in the exam.
Your notes
Pituitary Gland
The pituitary gland in the brain is a ‘master gland’ which secretes several hormones into the blood in
response to body conditions
These hormones in turn act on other glands to stimulate other hormones to be released to bring about
effects
For example, in certain conditions, the pituitary gland makes and secretes thyroid-stimulating
hormone (TSH) which stimulates the thyroid to release thyroxine
Hormones are synthesized and released into the bloodstream from a gland (such as the pituitary gland)
and circulate in the bloodstream, having an effect on target cells
Page 5 of 21
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Your notes
Page 6 of 21
Control of Blood Glucose Concentration

Your notes
Control of Blood Glucose
Blood glucose concentration is monitored and controlled by the pancreas
The pancreas is an endocrine gland (making and secreting hormones into the bloodstream) and it also
plays a vital (but separate) role in digestion (making and secreting enzymes into the digestive system)
Blood glucose concentration must be kept within a narrow range, so it’s another example of
homeostasis (like temperature control)
Eating foods containing carbohydrate results in an increase of glucose into the bloodstream
If the blood glucose concentration is too high, the pancreas produces the hormone insulin to bring it
back down
Too high a level of glucose in the blood can lead to cells of the body losing water by osmosis, which
can be dangerous
Insulin stimulates cells to take in glucose from the bloodstream (particularly liver and muscle cells)
In liver and muscle cells excess glucose is converted into glycogen (a polymer of glucose) for storage
Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a disorder in which the pancreas fails to produce sufficient insulin to control blood
glucose levels
Scientists think this is a result of a person’s own immune system destroying the cells of the
pancreas that make insulin during development
Type 1 diabetes is characterised by uncontrolled high blood glucose levels and is normally treated with
insulin injections
In Type 2 diabetes the body cells no longer respond to insulin produced by the pancreas - the person
still makes insulin but their cells are resistant to it and don’t respond as well as they should
This can also lead to uncontrolled high blood glucose levels
A carbohydrate-controlled diet and an exercise regime are common treatments for Type 2 diabetes
Obesity is a big risk factor for Type 2 diabetes; probably because a person who is obese may consume
a diet high in carbohydrates, and over-production of insulin results in resistance to it developing
Comparing Type 1 & Type 2 diabetes
Page 7 of 21
Your notes
Interpreting Information about Blood Glucose Levels

You should be able to extract information and interpret data from graphs that show the effect of
insulin on blood glucose levels in both people with diabetes and people without diabetes.
Negative Feedback Control of Blood Glucose

Higher tier only
If the blood glucose concentration is too low, the pancreas produces the hormone glucagon that
causes glycogen to be converted into glucose and released into the blood.
Glucagon and insulin interact as part of a negative feedback cycle to control blood glucose (sugar)
levels in the body:
Insulin is produced when blood glucose rises and stimulates liver and muscle cells to convert
excess glucose into glycogen to be stored – this reduces the blood glucose level
Glucagon is produced when blood glucose falls too low and stimulates liver and muscle cells to
convert stored glycogen into glucose to be released into the bloodstream – this increases the
blood glucose level
Page 8 of 21
Your notes
Negative feedback regulation of blood glucose levels
Page 9 of 21

The terms glucagon and glycogen are very often mixed up by students as they sound similar. Your notes
Remember:
Glucagon is the hormone
Glycogen is the polysaccharide glucose is stored as
Learn the differences between the spellings and what each one does so you don't get confused in
the exam!
Page 10 of 21
Maintaining Water & Nitrogen Balance in the Body

Your notes
Water Loss in the Body
Maintaining water levels in the body is vital to prevent harmful changes occurring to cells of the body as
a result of osmosis
If body cells lose or gain too much water by osmosis they do not function efficiently:
Too much water in the blood results in cells swelling as water moves into them, this has a diluting
effect and can lead to cell lysis (bursting)
Too little water in the blood (or too high an ion concentration) and the cells lose water by osmosis,
this has a dehydrating effect and can lead to cell death
There are two sources of water in the body: water produced as a result of aerobic respiration and water
in the diet
The cytoplasm of all cells is largely composed of water, as is the blood plasma
Water is lost from the body in the following ways:
Water leaves the body via the lungs during exhalation (breathing out)
Water, ions and urea are lost from the skin in sweat.
However, the lungs and skin have no control over how much water, ion or urea is lost via exhalation or
sweating
Controlled loss of excess water, ions and urea is controlled by the kidneys when they filter the blood to
produce urine
Page 11 of 21
Your notes
Organs of the human body involved in excretion of water, ions and urea
The excretory system table
Page 12 of 21
Your notes
Deamination
Higher tier only
The digestion of proteins from the diet results in excess amino acids which need to be excreted safely,
as they cannot be stored by the body in the same way that excess glucose can
Deamination is the process of breaking down excess protein and it predominantly occurs in the liver
Enzymes in the liver split up amino acid molecules, with the part containing carbon turned into
glycogen and the other part containing nitrogen (the amino part) turned into ammonia (this is why we
say the amino acid has been deaminated)
Ammonia is toxic to cells and so it is immediately converted to urea which can be transported around
the body via the blood safely for excretion by the kidneys
Page 13 of 21
Your notes
Deamination of an amino acid results in the formation of urea from the amino part, which contains
nitrogen
Structure & Function of the Kidney

The kidneys help to control the water content of the body and the concentrations of substances (such
as sodium and potassium ions) dissolved in the fluids of the body
The kidney contains highly branched capillary networks that form filters which contain pores with an
average radium of about 3 nanometers
When blood passes through the kidneys, the pressure it is under increases as it is pushed into the filters
This high-pressure mass flow forces molecules that are small enough to pass through the pores out of
the bloodstream – this is called filtration
Substances forced out of the blood include glucose, urea and water with ions dissolved in it. The liquid
formed is called filtrate
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Larger molecules (such as RBCs or proteins) are too big to pass out of the filter and so remain in the
blood plasma
Your notes
The kidneys then selectively reabsorb substances needed by the body back into the bloodstream
(this is an active process)
In a healthy kidney, this includes all of the glucose and some ions from the filtrate
Anything not reabsorbed forms urine, which is then stored in the bladder until it is excreted
Urea, formed from the deamination of amino acids in the liver, is not selectively reabsorbed
The concentration of urea in the urine is far higher than that of the blood plasma
Reabsorption of water from the filtrate back into the bloodstream is why the concentration of urea
in the filtrate is so much higher
The kidneys produce urine when they filter the blood

Page 15 of 21
Your notes
Take care to describe clearly where substances are moving from and to in the kidneys (ie. glucose
moves from the filtrate into the bloodstream when it is selectively reabsorbed. Using your technical
terminology incorrectly here could lose you marks.Also – small substances such as urea are forced
out of the blood during filtration as a result of high-pressure mass flow, they don’t diffuse out of the
blood.
Interpreting Information about Kidney Function

You should be able to translate tables and bar charts of glucose, ions and urea before and after
filtration – expect to see this in an exam.
Control of Water Levels

Higher tier only
Water lost through the lungs or skin cannot be controlled, but the volume of water lost in the
production of urine can be controlled by the kidneys
The kidneys contain structures called tubules which filtrate passes through on its way to the bladder
Water reabsorption occurs along these tubules; if the water content of the blood is too high then less
water is reabsorbed, if it is too low then more water is reabsorbed
The pituitary gland in the brain constantly releases a hormone called ADH; how much ADH is released
depends on how much water the kidneys should reabsorb from the filtrate
ADH, therefore, affects the permeability of the tubules to water
If the water content of the blood is too high, the pituitary gland releases less ADH which leads to
less water being reabsorbed in the tubules of the kidney (the tubules become less permeable to
water)
If the water content of the blood is too low and the blood is too concentrated, the pituitary gland
releases more ADH which leads to more water being reabsorbed in the tubules of the kidney (the
tubules become more permeable to water)
The control of water reabsorption by the tubules is another example of negative feedback
Page 16 of 21
Your notes
In the control of water levels, the brain detects if the level is too high or low and modulates how much
ADH the pituitary gland releases
Kidney Failure
The kidneys might not work properly for several reasons, including accidents or disease
Humans can survive with one functioning kidney, but if both are damaged then there will quickly be a
build-up of toxic wastes in the body which will be fatal if not removed
Page 17 of 21
Your notes
People who suffer from kidney failure may be treated by organ transplant or by using kidney dialysis
Dialysis is the usual treatment for someone with kidney failure
Patients are connected to a dialysis machine which acts as an artificial kidney to remove most of the
urea and restore/maintain the water and salt balance of the blood
Unfiltered blood is taken from an artery in the arm, pumped into the dialysis machine and then returned
to a vein in the arm
Inside the machine the blood and dialysis fluid are separated by a partially permeable membrane – the
blood flows in the opposite direction to dialysis fluid, allowing exchange to occur between the two
where a concentration gradient exists
Dialysis fluid contains:
A glucose concentration similar to a normal level in blood
A concentration of salts similar to a normal level in blood
No urea
Page 18 of 21
Your notes
Page 19 of 21
Your notes
Dialysis is an artificial method of filtering the blood to remove toxins and excess substances
Kidney transplants are a better long term solution to kidney failure than dialysis; however, there are
several disadvantages to kidney transplants, including:
Donors won’t have the same antigens on cell surfaces so there will be some immune response to the
new kidney (risk of rejection is reduced - but not removed – by ‘tissue typing’ the donor and the
recipient first)
This has to be suppressed by taking immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their lives – these can
have long term side effects and leave the patient vulnerable to infections
There are not enough donors to cope with demand
However, if a healthy, close matched kidney is available, then the benefits of a transplant over dialysis
include:
The patient has much more freedom as they are not tied to having dialysis several times a week in
one place
Their diets can be much less restrictive than they are when on dialysis
Use of dialysis machines is very expensive and so this cost is removed
A kidney transplant is a long term solution whereas dialysis will only work for a limited time
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When answering questions about dialysis, the best answers will refer to differences in concentration Your notes
gradients between the dialysis fluid and the blood, and use this to explain why substances move in
certain directions.
Page 21 of 21

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AQA GCSE Biology Your notes

Hormones: Maintaining Blood Homeostasis

Human Endocrine System

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Test yourselfFlashcardsNext topic

Control of Blood Glucose Concentration

Interpreting Information about Blood Glucose Levels

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Negative Feedback Control of Blood Glucose

Negative feedback regulation of blood glucose levels

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Maintaining Water & Nitrogen Balance in the Body

Structure & Function of the Kidney

The kidneys produce urine when they filter the blood

Interpreting Information about Kidney Function

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Control of Water Levels

Examiner Tips and Tricks

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