homeostasis

Definition

The ability of a system or living organism to adjust its internal environment to maintain a state of dynamic constancy; such as the ability of warm-blooded animals to maintain a stable temperature.

Etymology

Coined from Ancient Greek ὅμοιος (hómoios, “similar, the same”) + -stasis by Walter Bradford Cannon, from Ancient Greek στάσις (stásis, “standing, state”).

Example Sentences

• "His most important work concentrated on the complexities of chemical neurotransmission (for which Otto Loewi received a Nobel Prize in 1936) and on “homeostasis” (a term coined by Cannon in 1926), the maintenance of steady states in the body and the physiological processes through which they are regulated."
• "When homeostasis is disrupted by an external stressor - such as injury, lack of nutrients, or invasion by parasites or other organisms - illness may occur."

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