Unit 8 - Physiology and Homeostasis
Standards
As a result of the coordinated structures and functions of organ systems, the internal environment of the human body remains relativelystable (homeostatic) despite changes in the outside environment. As a basis for understanding this concept:
- 9a. Students know how the complementary activity of major body systems provides cells with oxygen and nutrients and removes toxic waste products such as carbon dioxide.
- 9b. Students know how the nervous system mediates communication between different parts of the body and the body’s interactions with the environment.
- 9c. Students know how feedback loops in the nervous and endocrine systems regulate conditions in the body.
- 9d. Students know the functions of the nervous system and the role of neurons in transmitting electrochemical impulses.
- 9e. Students know the roles of sensory neurons, interneurons, and motor neurons in sensation, thought, and response.
- 9f. ***Students know the individual functions and sites of secretion of digestive enzymes (amylases, proteases, nucleases, lipases), stomach acid, and bile salts.
- 9g. ***Students know the homeostatic role of the kidneys in the removal of nitrogenous wastes and the role of the liver in blood detoxification and glucose balance.
- 9h. ***Students know the cellular and molecular basis of muscle contraction, including the roles of actin, myosin, Ca+2 , and ATP.
- 9i. ***Students know how hormones (including digestive, reproductive, osmoregulatory) provide internal feedback mechanisms for homeostasis at the cellular level and in whole organisms.
Organisms have a variety of mechanisms to combat disease. As a basis for understanding the human immune response:
- 10a. Students know the role of the skin in providing nonspecific defenses against infection.
- 10b. Students know the role of antibodies in the body’s response to infection.
- 10c. Students know how vaccination protects an individual from infectious diseases.
- 10d. Students know there are important differences between bacteria and viruses with respect to their requirements for growth and replication, the body’s primary defenses against bacterial and viral infections, and effective treatments of these infections.
- 10e. Students know why an individual with a compromised immune system (for example, a person with AIDS) may be unable to fight off and survive infections by microorganisms that are usually benign.
- 10f. ***Students know the roles of phagocytes, B-lymphocytes, and T-lymphocytes in the immune system.
