Homeotasis

 Homeostasis, from the Greek words

for "same" and "steady," refers to
any process that living things use to
actively maintain fairly stable
conditions necessary for survival.
Parts and Functions
 Stimulus — a change in the
environment, such as an irritant,
loss of blood, or presence of a
foreign chemical.
 Receptor — the site within the
body that detects or receives the
stimulus, senses the change from
normal, and sends signals to the
control center.
 Control center — the operational
point at which the signals are
received, analyzed, and an
appropriate response is determined.
 Effector — the body site where a
response is generated, which
counters the initial stimulus and
thus attempts to maintain
homeostasis.
Feedback Loops
 Feedback mechanisms
— methods by which
the body regulates the
degree of response that
has been elicited. A
negative feedback
depresses the stimulus
to shut off or reduce
the effector response,
whereas a positive
feedback has the effect
of increasing the
effector response
 Negative Feedback
Loop
 Negative feedback involves a response that is the reverse of the change detected
(it functions to reduce the change)
 A change is detected by a receptor and an effector is activated to induce an
opposite effect – this promotes equilibrium
Example:
 Thermoregulation (if body temperature changes, mechanisms are induced to
restore normal levels).
Positive Feedback
Loop
 Positive feedback involves a
response that reinforces the
change detected
 A change is detected by a receptor
and an effector is activated to
induce the same effect – this
promotes further change
 Positive feedback loops will
continue to amplify the initial
change until the stimulus is
removed
Example :
 Childbirth – stretching of uterine
walls cause contractions that
further stretch the walls (this
continues until birthing occurs)