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How An Animal Maintains A Stable Internal Environment

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Biology 3.4 - Homeostasis
Demonstrate understanding of how an animal maintains a stable internal environment

Homeostasis is the process where the organisms body 's internal systems work together to maintain a constant internal environment and therefore efficiently adapt in response to environmental changes to reach a stable state of equilibrium in the body. The body needs homeostasis in order to maintain stability and therefore survive. It does this by ensuring that the internal environment remains as constant as possible and therefore works efficiently and effectively. All of the systems in the human body are involved, with specific contributions from the nervous, respiratory, renal and endocrine systems. Exercise, like the Rainbow Rage, is an external factor which creates changes and imbalances in the body (such as blood glucose levels and body temperature). There are homeostatic mechanisms, such as negative feedback control, which try to achieve the regulation of these factors and therefore end the stimulus.

There are three components involved with homeostasis. These are receptors, control centre and effectors which work together to regulate the imbalance that has occurred in the organism. An increase or decrease of a certain factor may cause a change to the norm, so the principle of negative feedback control is used in response to the stimulus. If the factor increases, the receptors are affected which send a message to the control centre and then on to the effectors

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