HOMEOSTASIS

• Homeostasis refers to the relatively stable state inside

the body of an animal. Animal organs and organ
systems constantly adjust to internal and external
changes in order to maintain this steady state.
• Homeostatic mechanisms keep the body in dynamic
equilibrium by constantly adjusting to the changes the
body’s system encounter.
Homeostatic control

To maintain homeostasis, communication within the

body is essential.

Stimulus– produces a change to a variable (the

factor being regulated).
Receptor– detects the change. The receptor
monitors the environment and responds to change
(stimuli).
Input– information travels along the (afferent)
pathway to the control center. The control center
determines the appropriate response and course of
action.
Output– information sent from the control center
travels down the (efferent) pathway to the effector.
Response– a response from the effector balances
out the original stimulus to maintain homeostasis.
• Two examples of factors that are regulated homeostatically are
temperature and water content. The processes that maintain
homeostasis of these two factors are called thermoregulation and
osmoregulation.
• Animal organs and organ systems constantly adjust to internal and
external changes through the process of homeostasis.
• There are two results of homeostasis; negative feedback loop and
positive feedback loop
 NEGATIVE FEEDBACK LOOP
• Any homeostatic process that changes the direction of the stimulus is
a negative feedback loop.
• It may either increase or decrease the stimulus, but the stimulus is
not allowed to continue as it did before the receptor sensed it.
 POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOP
• A positive feedback loop maintains the direction of the stimulus,
possibly accelerating it.
• The direction is maintained, not changed.