A physiologist's view of homeostasis

American Journal of Physiology - Advances in Physiology Education - Tập 39 Số 4 - Trang 259-266 - 2015
Harold Modell1, William Cliff2, Joel Michael3, Jenny McFarland4, Mary Pat Wenderoth5, Ann Wright6
1Physiology Educational Research Consortium, Seattle, Washington;
2Department of Biology, Niagara University, Niagara, New York;
3Department of Molecular Biophysics and Physiology, Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois;
4Department of Biology, Edmonds Community College, Lynnwood, Washington;
5Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; and
6Department of Biology, Canisius College, Buffalo, New York

Tóm tắt

Homeostasis is a core concept necessary for understanding the many regulatory mechanisms in physiology. Claude Bernard originally proposed the concept of the constancy of the “milieu interieur,” but his discussion was rather abstract. Walter Cannon introduced the term “homeostasis” and expanded Bernard's notion of “constancy” of the internal environment in an explicit and concrete way. In the 1960s, homeostatic regulatory mechanisms in physiology began to be described as discrete processes following the application of engineering control system analysis to physiological systems. Unfortunately, many undergraduate texts continue to highlight abstract aspects of the concept rather than emphasizing a general model that can be specifically and comprehensively applied to all homeostatic mechanisms. As a result, students and instructors alike often fail to develop a clear, concise model with which to think about such systems. In this article, we present a standard model for homeostatic mechanisms to be used at the undergraduate level. We discuss common sources of confusion (“sticky points”) that arise from inconsistencies in vocabulary and illustrations found in popular undergraduate texts. Finally, we propose a simplified model and vocabulary set for helping undergraduate students build effective mental models of homeostatic regulation in physiological systems.

Từ khóa


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Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

American Journal of Physiology - Advances in Physiology Education

Tập 39 Số 4

259-266

Thông tin tác giả