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Homeostasis

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Submitted By manx
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Section A-

What is Homeostasis?
Homeostasis is the name given to the body’s internal control mechanism. It maintains (looks after) the body’s temperature, water balance, blood urea level and glucose levels.

Homeostasis is “maintained by control systems that detect and respond to changes in the internal environment” (Ross and Wilson, 2010). Homeostasis control mechanisms have three basic components: receptors, control center and effector. The receptors react to change in the environment and send a message to the control center within the brain. The control center, which determines the limits within which the variable factor should be maintained, processes the information it has received. The control centre decides if and by how much the level needs to be adjusted. When it is indicated that an adjustment is required, it passes the information to the effector, whose output is changed. Fig 1.

Fig 1
The three basis components of a feedback system are receptors, a control center, and effectors.

(Grabowski, 2000)

Negative Feedback Mechanisms
In systems controlled by negative feedback the effector response reduces or negates the effect of the original stimulus, maintaining or restoring homeostasis (Ross and Wilson, 2010), thus the term negative feedback. Fig 2

Homeostatic regulation of blood pressure is by a negative feedback system. The response is fed back into the system, and the system continues to lower blood pressure until there is a return to normal blood pressure.

Fig 2
If the response reverses the stimulus, a system is operating by negative feedback.

(Grabowski, 2000)

Positive feedback mechanisms
Positive feedback mechanisms are quite rare in the body. In positive feedback mechanisms, the stimulus progressively increases the response, as long as the stimulus continues the response progressively amplifies (Ross and Wilson, 2010).

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