Homeostasis

In biology, homeostasis (British also homoeostasis; ) is the state of steady internal physical and chemical conditions maintained by living organisms. This is the condition of optimal functioning for the organism and includes many variables, such as body temperature and fluid balance, being kept within certain pre-set limits (homeostatic range). Other variables include the pH of extracellular fluid, the concentrations of sodium, potassium, and calcium ions, as well as the blood sugar level, and these need to be regulated despite changes in the environment, diet, or level of activity. Each of t

principle to predict effects of a change in conditions on a chemical equilibrium

portion of the mammalian brain

Baroreceptors (or archaically, pressoreceptors) are stretch receptors that sense blood vessel deformation. The term "baroreceptors" is somewhat a misnomer, since they detect stretch rather than pressure directly. Increases in vessel diameter triggers increased action potential generation rates and provides information to the central nervous system. This sensory information is used primarily in autonomic reflexes that in turn influence cardiac output and vascular smooth muscle to influence vascular resistance. Baroreceptors act immediately as part of a negative feedback system called the barore

term for extra-cellular interstitial fluid surrounding bodily organs

class=skin-invert-image|thumb|right|Plots from a standard DaisyWorld simulation. Note, these plots are not from, nor do they correspond directly to, any data figure presented in the studies cited herein.

Homeorhesis, derived from the Greek for "similar flow", is a concept encompassing dynamical systems which return to a trajectory, as opposed to systems which return to a particular state, which is termed homeostasis.

Proteostasis is the dynamic regulation of a balanced, functional proteome. The proteostasis network includes competing and integrated biological pathways within cells that control the biogenesis, folding, trafficking, and degradation of proteins present within and outside the cell. Loss of proteostasis is central to understanding the cause of diseases associated with excessive protein misfolding and degradation leading to loss-of-function phenotypes, as well as aggregation-associated degenerative disorders. Therapeutic restoration of proteostasis may treat or resolve these pathologies.