Control of the

“Internal Environment”
Control systems in the body

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 Contents

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 Internal environment
• all cells live in essentially the same
environment—the extracellularfluid
• the extracellular fluid is also called the internal
environment of the body, or the milieu
intérieur
• 19th-century French physiologist Claude
Bernard

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Total Body Water
• Intracellular fluid (I CF): approximately 2/3 of total of body water
• Extracellular fluid (ECF): approximately 1/3 of total body water
• Interstitial fluid (ISF): approximately 3/4 of the extracellular fluid
• Plasma volume (PV ): approximately 1/4 of the e:x1:racellular fluid
• Vascular compartment: contains the blood volume which is
plasma and the cellular elements of blood, primarily red blood cells

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Differences Between Extracellular and
Intracellular Fluids
 cell membrane maintain the ion
concentration differences
 mechanisms for transporting ions
• simple diffusion
• facilitated diffusion
• “active transport” of Substances

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 Extracellular Fluid Transport and
Mixing System—The Blood
Circulatory System

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 Regulation of Body Functions
1. Nervous System
• sensory
• central nervous system (or integrative portion)
• motor
The nervous system regulates mainly
muscular and secretory activities of the body

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 Cont…Regulation of Body Functions
2. Hormonal
8 major endocrine glands that secrete hormones
• Pitutary
• Thyroid
• Pancrease
• Adrenal gland
• parathyroid
• Ovaries/ testis
• Hypothalamus
 the hormonal system regulates many metabolic
functions
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 Control Systems of the Body
thousands of control systems
• genetic
=>control intracellular function as well as
extracellular function
• within the organs
=> operate within the organs to control functions of
the individual parts of the organs
• entire body
=> control the interrelations between the organs

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 Genetic control systems
transcription / translation

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 RNA translation

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 Control of Gene Function and
Biochemical Activity in Cells
• Each cell has powerful internal feedback control
• 30,000 genes
• For each there is at least one negative feedback
mechanism exist
• Each cell has two method of control of
biochemical activity
• Genetic
• Enzymatic

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 Genetic regulation
• Structural genes
• Operon( 2 or more structural genes)
a sequence of genes located one after the other on the
same chromosomal DNA strand
 enzymes
• Promotor gene
Specific affinity for RNA polymerase
• Reprossor operator gene in the promotor region codes
for reprossor protein
=> prevent attachment of RNA polymerase to the
promoter, thus prevent further transcription

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 Control of the Operon by an “Activator Protein”—The
“Activator Operator”

• activator operator in promotor region

• Codes for Activator Protein
• attract the RNA polymerase to the promoter
• activating the operon

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 Negative Feedback Control of the
Operon
• presence of a critical amount of a synthesized
product/ enzyme
• cause negative feedback inhibition of the
operon that is responsible for its synthesis

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 Another way of control of operon
1. regulatory gene located elsewhere in the genetic
complex of the nucleus => regulatory protein =>
activator or as a repressor substance
2. Same regulatory protein control different
operons
• Activator for one operon
• repressor for another
• all the operons that function together are called a
regulon

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 Another way of control of operon
3. control not @ the start of transcription
• Sometimes the control is not even at the DNA
strand itself but during the processing of the RNA
molecules in the nucleus before they are released
into the cytoplasm
• rarely, control might occur at the level of protein
formation in the cytoplasm during RNA
translation by the ribosomes
4. DNA is packaged in histones, which in turn are
held tightly together in a compacted state by still
other proteins
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 Enzyme regulation
Enzyme Activation
• Enzymes that are normally inactive often can be
activated when needed
• ATP has been depleted
• cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)
• activates the glycogen-splitting enzyme phosphorylase
• Glucose metabolized => ATP
• Thus, cAMP acts as an enzyme activator for the enzyme
phosphorylase and thereby helps control intracellular
ATP concentration

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 Enzyme regulation
Formation of the purines and pyrimidines
• purines inhibit the enzymes that are required
for formation of additional purines
• However, they activate the enzymes for
formation of pyrimidines
• the pyrimidines inhibit their own enzymes but
activate the purine enzymes.
cross-feed between the synthesizing systems
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 Examples of Control Mechanisms
O2 concentration in the ECF
• body has a special control mechanism to maintain an
almost exact and constant oxygen concentration in the
extracellular fluid
• oxygen-buffering function of hemoglobin
• Hemoglobin=> Hgn + O2 in the lung => release its O2 as
it pass through tissue capilaries
• does not release oxygen into the tissue fluid if too
much oxygen is already there
• If little O2 => sufficient oxygen is released to re-
establish an adequate concentration

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 Examples of Control Mechanisms
CO2 concentration in the ECF
• regulated in a much different way
• If CO2 continue to accumulate uncontrolled =>
halt all energy-giving reactions of the cells
• higher than normal carbon dioxide concentration
in the blood excites the respiratory center => RR
increase; deeply=> increases expiration of carbon
dioxide => removes excess carbon dioxide from
the blood and tissue fluids
• continues until the concentration returns to
normal
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 Examples of Control Mechanisms
Regulation of Arterial Blood Pressure
• Several systems contribute to the regulation of arterial blood pressure
• baroreceptor system- rapidly acting control mechanism
1. bifurcation region of the carotid arteries
2. arch of the aorta
• stimulated by stretch of the arterial wall
• High BP => stretch BR=> increase impulses to vasomotor center @ medulla
=> decrease sympathetic nervous system impulse to the heart and blood
vessels => normalize BP
• Normal BP => no stretch => no impulse => normal sympathetic tone =>
normal BP
• Decreased BP => relaxes the stretch receptors => vasomotor center to
become more active => active sympathetic nervous system impulse =>
vasoconstriction and increased heart pumping => and raise BP

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 Characteristics of Control Systems
Negative Feedback

• negative to the initiating stimulus

• if some factor becomes excessive or deficient
=> a control system initiates negative
feedback, which consists of a series of
changes that return the factor toward a
certain mean value, thus maintaining
homeostasis

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 Characteristics of Control Systems(CS)
“Gain” of a Control System
• degree of effectiveness CS
• gain of the negative feedback
• Gain =correction / error
• i.e
• Lets say; you transfuse liters of blood to normal person
o Arterial pressure raises from 100 to 125mm Hg
o And you remove baroreceptors from patient and transfuse him with liters of blood
o And arterial pressure raises from 100 to 175
o BR correction, 125- 175= -50; error, 125- 100= +25
o Gain = -50/ +25= -2
• a disturbance that increases or decreases the arterial pressure does so only one
third as much as would occur if this control system were not present
• temperature control system is much more effective than the baroreceptor
pressure control system; gain = -33

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 Characteristics of Control Systems
Positive Feedback Can Sometimes Cause Vicious Cycles and Death

• instability not stability

• Each cycle in the feedback results in further
weakening of the heart
• initiating stimulus causes more of the same
feedback, positive feedback
• Known as Vicious cycle
• mild degree of positive feedback => negative
feedback => vicious cycle fails
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 Vicious Cycles and Death

shock & death

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 Characteristics of Control Systems
Positive Feedback Can Sometimes Be
Useful
• the body uses positive feedback to it
advantage
• In each case in which positive
feedback is useful, the positive
feedback itself is part of an overall
negative feedback process
• blood vessel is ruptured and a clot
begins to form=> multiple enzymes
called clotting factors are activated
• dangerous in an atherosclerotic
plaque in a coronary artery and then
growing until the artery is blocked

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 cont.. characteristics
Child birth(positive feedback plays a
valuable role)
labor
strong Ux contraction

fetal head push Cx

stretch of the cervix

signal Ux contraction

more powerful contraction

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 More Complex Types of Control Systems—
Adaptive Control
nervous system
• intricate
• feed-forward control
• or adaptive control
• or delayed negative feedback

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 summary

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