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Homeothermy, homothermy or homoiothermy [1] is thermoregulation that maintains a stable internal body temperature regardless of external influence. This internal body temperature is often, though not necessarily, higher than the immediate environment [2] (from Greek ὅμοιος homoios "similar" and θέρμη thermē "heat").
Research has shown that fairy prions enable tuatara to maintain a higher body temperature through the night for several months of the year, October to January (austral spring to summer). [16] During the night, tuatara sharing a burrow with a bird had the most thermal benefits and helped maintain their body temperature up to 15 hours the next day.
Simplified control circuit of human thermoregulation. [8]The core temperature of a human is regulated and stabilized primarily by the hypothalamus, a region of the brain linking the endocrine system to the nervous system, [9] and more specifically by the anterior hypothalamic nucleus and the adjacent preoptic area regions of the hypothalamus.
Thus, to Barcroft homeostasis was not only organized by the brain—homeostasis served the brain. [13] Homeostasis is an almost exclusively biological term, referring to the concepts described by Bernard and Cannon, concerning the constancy of the internal environment in which the cells of the body live and survive.
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature as its own body temperature, thus avoiding the need for internal thermoregulation.
Osmoregulation is the active regulation of the osmotic pressure of an organism's body fluids, detected by osmoreceptors, to maintain the homeostasis of the organism's water content; that is, it maintains the fluid balance and the concentration of electrolytes (salts in solution which in this case is represented by body fluid) to keep the body fluids from becoming too diluted or concentrated.
By homeostasis, Cannon meant "the maintenance of steady states in the body and the physiological processes through which they are regulated." [30] In other words, the body's ability to regulate its internal environment. William Beaumont was the first American to utilize the practical application of physiology.
The tears are unique among body fluids in that they are exposed to the environment. Much like other body fluids, tear fluid is kept in a tight pH range using the bicarbonate buffer system. [15] The pH of tears shift throughout a waking day, rising "about 0.013 pH units/hour" until a prolonged closed-eye period causes the pH to fall again. [15]