Maintaining Life in the Human Body

Maintaining LifeTo maintain life the human body must :

Maintain boundaries

Maintain movement

Respond to stimuli

Digest and metabolize

Excrete waste

Reproduce

Grow

Survival Needs

The body is a very delicate machine and has needs that MUST be met in order to maintain life

The human body needs:

Nutrients, Oxygen, Water, Maintained Body Temperature, Appropriate Atmospheric Pressure

Nutrients

Nutrients are taken in via our diets

They contain the chemicals used for energy and cell building

Carbohydrates, Proteins, Minerals, and Vitamins are all nutrients that play a vital role in our survival

NutrientsHere are some

examples that are needed for our survival

Oxygen

All of the nutrients that we take in are useless without oxygen

Chemical reactions that release energy from food requires oxygen

Oxygen is made available to the body by a combined effort of the cardiovascular and respiratory system

Oxygen in the bloodstream

Water

Water makes up 60-80 percent of our body mass

It is the single most abundant chemical in the body

Absorbed from foods and liquids and released by evaporation in the lungs and body excretions

Body Temperature

Body temperature must be maintained at around 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Farenheit)

Metabolic reactions decrease with a lower body temperature and increase with a higher body temperature

Atmospheric Pressure

Your body must be kept in an area where there is suitable atmospheric pressure.

Standard atmospheric pressure is 1.00 atms

If your body is subject to pressures too great or to little you can not properly perform the act of respiration (gaseous exchange).

Atmospheric Pressure

SCUBA divers spend time in chambers called hyperbaric chambers to re-regulate their bodies to normal atmospheric pressure