Final answer:
The skin is the main organ involved in maintaining the body's heat balance and plays a critical role in homeostasis through temperature regulation via vasodilation, vasoconstriction, and sweating mechanisms. Option C.
Step-by-step explanation:
The main organ involved in maintaining the body's heat balance is skin. This major organ of the integumentary system plays a crucial role in regulating body temperature and thus homeostasis.
The skin interacts with the cardiovascular system through processes such as vasodilation and vasoconstriction. When the body needs to release heat, blood vessels in the skin dilate which increases blood flow to the skin's surface, thereby allowing heat to be lost to the environment.
Conversely, when the body needs to conserve heat, blood vessels can constrict to reduce blood flow to the skin's surface, thereby retaining heat.
Moreover, the skin contains sweat glands, which are activated to increase sweat output when the body temperature rises. The evaporation of sweat from the skin surface, a process requiring adequate water intake, helps to cool the body.
However, this sweat response is less effective in high humidity, since the air cannot absorb additional moisture readily, posing a risk of overheating.
Other components such as hair and fat layers also aid in insulation, but the primary response to temperature control is managed by the skin's ability to regulate heat exchange with the environment. So Option C.