Cell and Homeostasis

Cells are the highly organized, living building blocks of the body. A cell has three major parts: the plasma membrane, which encloses the cell; the nucleus, which houses the cell’s genetic material; and the cytoplasm. The cytoplasm consists of the cytosol, organelles, and cytoskeleton. The cytosol is a gel-like liquid within which the organelles and cytoskeleton are suspended. Organelles are discrete, well-organized structures that carry out specialized functions. The cytoskeleton is protein scaffolding that extends throughout the cell and serves as the cell’s “bone and muscle.” Through the coordinated action of these components, every cell performs certain basic functions essential to its survival and a specialized task that helps maintain homeostasis. Cells are organized according to their specialization into body systems that maintain the stable internal environment essential for the whole body’s survival. All body functions ultimately depend on the activities of the individual cells that make up the body. Homeostasis, a dynamic steady state of the constituents in the internal fluid environment (the extracellular fluid) that surrounds and exchanges materials with the cells. Maintenance of homeostasis is essential for survival and normal functioning of cells. Each cell, through its specialized activities, contributes as part of a body system to the maintenance of homeostasis. Emphasis in the course will be on normal structure and function of the human body and the approach will be to develop an understanding of the integrative nature of physiological systems.

At the end of this lesson students will be able to understand;

  • Functional Organization of the Human Body and Control of the “Internal Environment
  • The Cell and its Functions
  • Genetic Control of Protein Synthesis, Cell Function, and Cell Reproduction