How does calcitonin help maintain homeostasis

Without adequate calcium, blood has difficulty coagulating, the heart may skip beats or stop beating altogether, muscles may have difficulty contracting, nerves may have difficulty functioning, and bones may become brittle. The causes of hypocalcemia can range from hormonal imbalances to an improper diet. Treatments vary according to the cause, but prognoses are generally good.

Conversely, in hypercalcemia , a condition characterized by abnormally high levels of calcium, the nervous system is underactive, which results in lethargy, sluggish reflexes, constipation and loss of appetite, confusion, and in severe cases, coma. Obviously, calcium homeostasis is critical. The skeletal, endocrine, and digestive systems play a role in this, but the kidneys do, too. These body systems work together to maintain a normal calcium level in the blood Figure 6.

Calcium is a chemical element that cannot be produced by any biological processes. The only way it can enter the body is through the diet. The bones act as a storage site for calcium: The body deposits calcium in the bones when blood levels get too high, and it releases calcium when blood levels drop too low. The role of calcitonin in normal human physiology, however, remains in dispute.

Finally, the biologically potent metabolite of vitamin D, 1,25 OH 2-D, stimulates intestinal absorption of calcium and phosphate. It also probably plays a role in the orderly mineralization and resorption of bone and has some influence on renal resorption of filtered calcium and phosphorus.

A major stimulus to its production by proximal renal tubule cells is elevated PTH and decreased serum levels of calcium and phosphate. Cancer Survivors March 20, What Is Secondary Prevention of Osteoporosis? July 21, Understanding Bone Density Results January 13, American Bone Health and Susan G. Cancer and Bone Health February 26, Subscribe to our mailing list. Facebook-f Twitter Youtube. About Us. Calcitonin is a hormone known to participate in calcium and phosphorus metabolism.

In mammals, the major source of calcitonin is from the parafollicular or C cells in the thyroid gland , but it is also synthesized in a wide variety of other tissues, including the lung and intestinal tract.

In birds, fish and amphibians, calcitonin is secreted from the ultimobrachial glands. Calcitonin is a 32 amino acid peptide cleaved from a larger prohormone. It contains a single disulfide bond, which causes the amino terminus to assume the shape of a ring. Alternative splicing of the calcitonin pre-mRNA can yield a mRNA encoding calcitonin gene-related peptide; that peptide appears to function in the nervous and vascular systems.