Final answer:
To maintain homeostasis when blood sugar rises, the body secretes insulin, which enables cells to absorb glucose and liver cells to store it as glycogen, thereby lowering the blood glucose levels.
Step-by-step explanation:
When blood sugar levels rise, the body maintains homeostasis through the following steps:
- The pancreas detects the increase in blood glucose levels and beta cells secrete insulin.
- Insulin facilitates the uptake of glucose into cells, particularly muscle and fat cells, for use or storage.
- Liver cells convert and store excess glucose as glycogen. This process is called glycogenesis.
- As cells absorb glucose, blood sugar levels start to decrease, restoring homeostasis.
If there's a failure in insulin production, like in type 1 diabetes, or a lack of response to insulin by the body's cells, as seen in type 2 diabetes, this homeostatic balance is disrupted, leading to sustained high blood glucose levels.