Homeostasis in mammals — practice question

Homeostasis in mammals is the process of maintaining the ........................................ environment of the body under optimum conditions so that cells can work efficiently. Blood water potential, core temperature, and blood glucose concentration are all variables that must be kept at optimum values, or at a set-point. If a condition moves away from its set-point, a corrective response is activated. A rise in blood glucose concentration triggers processes that lower it and the reverse also occurs. This corrective response is called ........................................ . The pancreas helps to regulate blood glucose concentration. Glucose binds to ........................................ on the cell surface membrane of pancreatic cells. These are ........................................ cells, which release hormones such as insulin and glucagon. The two hormones have opposite effects on blood glucose concentration. For example, the action of one hormone stimulates glucose uptake by cells for respiration, while the action of the other hormone stimulates the conversion of ........................................ back to glucose in the liver.