Physiological Homeostasis

In animals such as ourselves, the internal environment of our bodies must have certain conditions within tolerable limits to continue the healthy functioning of us.

This is done by a process called negative feedback control where various receptors and effectors bring about a reaction to ensure that such conditions remain favorable. In this tutorial, we investigate the control of blood sugar concentrations, water concentrations, and temperature.

This occurrence is known as physiological homeostasis, translating in layman’s terms to the physical equilibrium. It is essentially a corrective mechanism, consider the following scenario in a person:

Requirement of Negative Feedback Control

Because mammals are warm-blooded, the enzymes that are part of their make-up as a warm-blooded animal require a certain temperature to operate optimally. Also, the water concentration of a cell and its chemical concentration must remain at a certain level to allow normal cellular processes to occur.

In light of this, the feedback mechanism in such warm-blooded animals is essential in regards to allowing the body to work in optimal conditions – so any change in from the norm in temperature is corrected by the feedback mechanism.

Advantages of Homeostasis

Homeostasis has survival value because it means an animal can adapt to a changing environment. It can deal with the temperature difference you face when you step out your front door.

The body will attempt to maintain a norm, the desired level of a factor to achieve homeostasis. However, it can only work within tolerable limits, where extreme conditions can disable the negative feedback mechanism.

In these instances, death can result, unless medical treatment is executed to bring about the natural occurrence of these feedback mechanisms.

The next tutorial looks at the regulation of blood sugar concentration and temperature regulation in detail.