Homeostasis – blood glucose and body temperature

BiologyHuman & Animal PhysiologyAges 16–17

Eat a meal and watch blood glucose change minute by minute. In a healthy person, glucose entering the blood raises the level, pancreatic beta cells release insulin so glucose enters cells and is stored as liver glycogen, and the reading returns to the 3.9–6.4 mmol/L safe range within about two hours; between meals, alpha cells release glucagon to break glycogen back down and raise glucose again. Choose type 1 or type 2 diabetes to see glucose climb above 11 mmol/L and stay high, then inject insulin to bring it down. Switch to body temperature: drag the ambient temperature and watch the body vasodilate and sweat, or vasoconstrict and shiver, to hold its core temperature near 37 °C.