 Homeostasis is the tendency of biological systems to maintain relatively constant

conditions in the internal environment while continuously interacting with and

adjusting to changes originating within or outside the system.

Maintaining homeostasis requires that the body continuously monitor its

internal conditions. From body temperature to blood pressure to levels of
certain nutrients, each physiological condition has a particular set point. A set
point is the physiological value around which the normal range fluctuates.
A normal range is the restricted set of values that is optimally healthful and
stable. For example, the set point for normal human body temperature is
approximately 37°C (98.6°F) Physiological parameters, such as body
temperature and blood pressure, tend to fluctuate within a normal range a few
degrees above and below that point. Control centers in the brain and other
parts of the body monitor and react to deviations from homeostasis using
negative feedback. Negative feedback is a mechanism that reverses a
deviation from the set point. Therefore, negative feedback maintains body
parameters within their normal range. The maintenance of homeostasis by
negative feedback goes on throughout the body at all times, and an
understanding of negative feedback is thus fundamental to an understanding
of human physiology.

Negative Feedback
A negative feedback system has three basic components ([link]a). A sensor, also
referred to a receptor, is a component of a feedback system that monitors a physiological
value. This value is reported to the control center. The control center is the
component in a feedback system that compares the value to the normal range. If the
value deviates too much from the set point, then the control center activates an effector.
An effector is the component in a feedback system that causes a change to reverse the
situation and return the value to the normal range.

Negative feedback occurs when a system’s output acts to reduce or dampen the processes that
lead to the output of that system, resulting in less output. In general, negative feedback loops
allow systems to self-stabilize. Negative feedback is a vital control mechanism for the body’s
homeostasis
In order to set the system in motion, a stimulus must drive a physiological
parameter beyond its normal range (that is, beyond homeostasis). This
stimulus is “heard” by a specific sensor. For example, in the control of blood
glucose, specific endocrine cells in the pancreas detect excess glucose (the
stimulus) in the bloodstream. These pancreatic beta cells respond to the
increased level of blood glucose by releasing the hormone insulin into the
bloodstream. The insulin signals skeletal muscle fibers, fat cells (adipocytes),
and liver cells to take up the excess glucose, removing it from the bloodstream.
As glucose concentration in the bloodstream drops, the decrease in
concentration—the actual negative feedback—is detected by pancreatic alpha
cells, and insulin release stops. This prevents blood sugar levels from
continuing to drop below the normal range.
Positive Feedback Loops
Instead of reversing it, positive feedback encourages and intensifies a change in
the body’s physiological condition, actually driving it farther out of the normal
range. This type of feedback is normal for the body, provided there is a definite
endpoint.

Positive feedback loops amplify the starting signal. Positive feedback

loops are usually found in processes that need to be pushed to
completion, not when the status quo needs to be maintained.

A positive feedback loop comes into play during childbirth. In

childbirth, the baby's head presses on the cervix—the bottom of the
uterus, through which the baby must emerge—and activates neurons
to the brain. The neurons send a signal that leads to release of the
hormone oxytocin from the pituitary gland.

Oxytocin increases uterine contractions, and thus pressure on the

cervix. This causes the release of even more oxytocin and produces
even stronger contractions. This positive feedback loop continues until
the baby is born.
positive feedback encourages and intensifies a change in the body’s physiological
condition, actually driving it farther out of the normal range. This type of
feedback is normal for the body, provided there is a definite endpoint.

Blood Clotting

The process of blood coagulation (hemostasis) is a cascading positive feedback

loop. When the body is damaged inside or outside, the damaged tissues release
factors that cause platelets to adhere to the tissue (the effector) at the site of
the wound. The platelets release granules that activate and attract more
platelets and cause them to bind to each other. Fibrinogen is converted to fibrin
which creates a meshwork that traps blood cells and platelets, forming a clot and
stopping the bleeding. The cascade comes to an end when thrombin binds to the
cofactor thrombomodulin, activating protein C which inhibits the coagulation
cycle.
Chemically, the activation of the enzyme prothrombin into its active form
thrombin is one step in the clotting process. But what makes this a positive
feedback loop is that thrombin can also activate the coagulation factors that
precede it in the cascade. In other words, an increase in thrombin leads to a
greater increase in thrombin.

Another example of positive feedback occurs in lactation, during which a mother

produces milk for her infant. During pregnancy, levels of the hormone prolactin
increase. Prolactin normally stimulates milk production, but during pregnancy,
progesterone inhibits milk production. At birth, when the placenta is released from the
uterus, progesterone levels drop. As a result, milk production surges. As the baby
feeds, its suckling stimulates the breast, promoting further release of prolactin, resulting
in yet more milk production. This positive feedback ensures the baby has sufficient milk
during feeding. When the baby is weaned and no longer nurses from the mother,
stimulation ceases and prolactin in the mother’s blood reverts to pre-breastfeeding
levels. .