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Homeostasis is when the body regulates its internal conditions that are optimum for the
organism’s survival. An example can include body temperature, when we get hot, we sweat
so that the water coming out from the pores of our skin can then be evaporated into the air
to then cool us down. Homeostasis is especially important so that the body system can
function at optimum conditions and keep everything at an equilibrium; otherwise too much of
one thing is a put back and does not allow the body to function efficiently or even function at
all.
Feedback loops
A feedback loop occurs whilst the body is maintaining homeostasis. When a change in the
body occurs different from the normal, the body sets off/ triggers a response and a feedback
loop will be used to reinstate homeostasis. A feedback loop contains 3 components which
are: a receptor, a co-ordination system ( co-ordinators) and an effector. The receptor detects
the conditions of the body, the coordinator is the nervous and endocrine system. This
transfers the information detected between the different parts of the body. The body needs
to be at set point, this is when the body is at its stable conditions. Or a level of equilibrium.
Negative feedback is when the feedback loop reverses the process when the body
conditions stray from normal conditions. Once skin thermoreceptors sense greater than ideal
temperatures, a significant thermoregulatory negative feedback loop for chilling occurs. This
triggers moisture pores on the skin, causing them to produce perspiration that evaporates
and chills the skin as well as the blood in the capillaries that flow along it.
A positive feedback loop intensifies the effect of the original change in environment
(stimulus). This is extremely useful to activate a process quickly. This original stimulus
creates a comeback that allows the factor to diverge increasingly from the norm of the range.
An example of this is the dilation of the cervix during labour. Unlike a negative feedback
loop, instead of reversing the process, it intensifies it. The first labour cramp serves as the
trigger for the procedure to get started. Flexibility detectors in the uterus track the amount
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