Say you have a headache or a high fever. Your muscles and joints are aching. Or your skin has broken out into a rash and an itch is driving you crazy. These are all a type of illness. How do you think that cells in your body are reacting to this?
A disease is an illness that effects the functions in a human body. Humans can get sick from many different agents. For example, and infection is when the presence of bacteria, a virus or another agent causes disease. Infections caused by bacteria and viruses lead to fevers, vomiting aches, pains and rashes. Infections caused by fungus impact skin cells, making them itch and burn. |
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There are also other diseases often called disorders or conditions. Some disorders could be inherited, meaning that they were passed down from a parent. These disorders are passed from a parent to child through their deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). As most people know, the DNA carries the traits and characteristics of a living thing. It is made up of units called genes. That is why these types of diseases are also called genetic diseases. However, some conditions are due to environmental problems. For example, air pollution leads commonly leads to diseases such as ischaemic heart disease, strokes, lung cancer and respiratory infections.
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How do your cells react when you're sick?
As you get these illnesses, some cells are working hard to heal you whereas some cells are trying to fight the invading illness. Different diseases or illnesses make the cells react differently. Here are 3 different illnesses and how the cells in your body react to them:
fever
Most people have had a fever before. Fevers are commonly caused by small infections such as cold or gastroenteritis (type of stomach infection). They could also be cause by common injuries, heart attacks, heat strokes, heat exhaustion, etc. When someone has a fever this usually means their temperature is high.
One part of the cell that is affected a lot is the cell membrane. Cells in a human body function the best at a normal temperature, which is 98.5 degrees Fahrenheit. When body temperature increases because of your fever, the cell membrane becomes more fluid. This usually happens when the acid tails of the phospholipids become less stiff, allowing more movement for the proteins and other molecules through the membrane. However, this changes the permeability of the membrane, which could possibly allow some harmful molecules into the enter the cell. In the cell, their are proteins known as integral and peripheral proteins. When the body heat rises, these proteins in the membrane are damaged. If heat level is too high, the proteins might even break down. |
Dehydration
Water is essential to life because our human bodies cannot function without it. Dehydration is a condition where more water is leaving the body than being taken in. There are many forms of dehydration and the condition could refer to salt water loss as well as water loss. The human body works to adjust it's water content to keep cells at a stable and safe level of hydration. Inside the human, water is divided between 2 parts of the cell: intracellular (Inside the cell) and extracellular (outside the cell). Extracellular compartments contain water from the blood as well as the water located between the cells in the tissues. However, for an average human being, 2 thirds of the body's water is intracellular. Water in these compartments could also be exchanged when necessary.
Here are 3 different types of dehydration, how they affect your cells, and the definition of osmotic pressure:
Here are 3 different types of dehydration, how they affect your cells, and the definition of osmotic pressure:
Isotonic Dehydration: This refers to the loss of water along with the salt that is normally in the water. Symptoms of this type of dehydration could be vomiting or diarrhea. This removes the salt and water in the extracellular compartment. The water and salt inside the cells, move outside to replace the loss of fluid. This results in a change in fluid volume for both compartments.
Hypotonic Dehydration: This means that the body’s fluids have less concentrated salts dissolved in the water. Water in the extracellular fluid then moves into the cell because the cells have more dissolved salts. If overhydration occurs, it is possible that the cell structure can break or the cell functions can disrupt. This could be when someone drinks a lot of water without taking in any salts.
Hypertonic Dehydration: This means that the body has lost more water relative to salts. Therefore, the extracellular fluid has a higher osmotic pressure (explanation of osmotic pressure in next paragraph). Then, the cells allow water to flow outwards into the extracellular fluid to balance the osmotic pressure between the inside and outside of the cells.
Osmotic pressure shows the concentration of certain salts in each compartment relative to other compartments. The more salts in the water, the higher the osmotic pressure. However, when dehydration occurs, the concentration of salts in one or more compartments increases or decreases.
Hypotonic Dehydration: This means that the body’s fluids have less concentrated salts dissolved in the water. Water in the extracellular fluid then moves into the cell because the cells have more dissolved salts. If overhydration occurs, it is possible that the cell structure can break or the cell functions can disrupt. This could be when someone drinks a lot of water without taking in any salts.
Hypertonic Dehydration: This means that the body has lost more water relative to salts. Therefore, the extracellular fluid has a higher osmotic pressure (explanation of osmotic pressure in next paragraph). Then, the cells allow water to flow outwards into the extracellular fluid to balance the osmotic pressure between the inside and outside of the cells.
Osmotic pressure shows the concentration of certain salts in each compartment relative to other compartments. The more salts in the water, the higher the osmotic pressure. However, when dehydration occurs, the concentration of salts in one or more compartments increases or decreases.
Diabetes
People who have diabetes are insulin deficient their blood. Insulin is made in the pancreas. The pancreas is an organ part of the digestive system and that is located behind the stomach. Insulin is important in the body because it allows glucose (blood sugar) get into the cells of the body. Blood sugar is like the food for cells in the body. If insulin is low or non-existent in the blood, then the cells don't receive the blood sugar they need. If the blood sugar cannot get into the body's cells then it builds up in the blood stream and the sugar count increases on the blood tests that we humans do. Also, as the blood sugar increases and cannot get into the body's cells, it has the effect of drawing water out of the cells and shrinks them up making them even less healthy.
The nerves in the body are affected differently. Nerve cells will allow blood sugar in without insulin, however without insulin present in the body, the sugar is not used by the nerve cell properly and the sugar accumulates in the cell. Over time this will damage the nerve cell and cause the nerve to die. This causes numbness and tingling in the feet and sometimes in the hands.Blood vessels are also made up of cells. As the sugar builds up in these cells it swells them up and this causes a narrowing of the blood vessel. This causes a decrease in the circulation to the feet, the kidneys and the eyes. |