Unpacking the homeostasis core concept in physiology: an Australian perspective

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Abstract

The homeostasis core concept of physiology was defined and unpacked by an Australian team with the goal of constructing a resource that will improve learning and teaching of this core physiology concept in an Australian Higher Education context.

Abstract

Australia-wide consensus was reached on seven core concepts of physiology, which included homeostasis, a fundamental concept for students to understand as they develop their basic knowledge of physiological regulatory mechanisms. The term homeostasis is most commonly used to describe how the internal environment of mammalian systems maintains relative constancy. The descriptor “the internal environment of the organism is actively regulated by the responses of cells, tissues, and organs through feedback systems” was unpacked by a team of three Australian Physiology educators into 5 themes and 18 subthemes arranged in a hierarchy. Using a five-point Likert scale, the unpacked concept was rated by 24 physiology educators from 24 Australian Universities for level of importance and level of difficulty for students. Survey data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA to compare between and within concept themes and subthemes. There were no differences in main themes for level of importance, with all ratings between essential or important. Theme 1: the organism has regulatory mechanisms to maintain a relatively stable internal environment, a process known as homeostasis was almost unanimously rated as essential. Difficulty ratings for unpacked concept themes averaged between slightly difficult and moderately difficult. The Australian team concurred with published literature that there are inconsistencies in the way the critical components of homeostatic systems are represented and interpreted. We aimed to simplify the components of the concept so that undergraduates would be able to easily identify the language used and build on their knowledge.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY The homeostasis core concept of physiology was defined and unpacked by an Australian team with the goal of constructing a resource that will improve learning and teaching of this core physiology concept in an Australian Higher Education context.

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Homeostasis: The Underappreciated and Far Too Often Ignored Central Organizing Principle of Physiology

George Billman (2020)

The grand challenge to physiology, as was first described in an essay published in the inaugural issue of Frontiers in Physiology in 2010, remains to integrate function from molecules to intact organisms. In order to make sense of the vast volume of information derived from, and increasingly dependent upon, reductionist approaches, a greater emphasis must be placed on the traditional integrated and more holistic approaches developed by the scientists who gave birth to physiology as an intellectual discipline. Our understanding of physiological regulation has evolved over time from the Greek idea of body humors, through Claude Bernard’s “milieu intérieur,” to Walter Cannon’s formulation of the concept of “homeostasis” and the application of control theory (feedback and feedforward regulation) to explain how a constant internal environment is achieved. Homeostasis has become the central unifying concept of physiology and is defined as a self-regulating process by which an organism can maintain internal stability while adjusting to changing external conditions. Homeostasis is not static and unvarying; it is a dynamic process that can change internal conditions as required to survive external challenges. It is also important to note that homeostatic regulation is not merely the product of a single negative feedback cycle but reflects the complex interaction of multiple feedback systems that can be modified by higher control centers. This hierarchical control and feedback redundancy results in a finer level of control and a greater flexibility that enables the organism to adapt to changing environmental conditions. The health and vitality of the organism can be said to be the end result of homeostatic regulation. An understanding of normal physiology is not possible without an appreciation of this concept. Conversely, it follows that disruption of homeostatic mechanisms is what leads to disease, and effective therapy must be directed toward re-establishing these homeostatic conditions. Therefore, it is the purpose of this essay to describe the evolution of our understanding of homeostasis and the role of physiological regulation and dysregulation in health and disease.

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From Claude Bernard to Walter Cannon. Emergence of the concept of homeostasis.

Garth Cooper (2008)

Roots of current conceptions of the regulation of states of the body through negative feedback mechanisms are traced back to Bernard's ideas on active stabilisation of bodily states against disturbances from the outside, revived by Henderson and Haldane, and crystallised in Cannon's concept of homeostasis.

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A physiologist's view of homeostasis.

Harold Modell, William Cliff, Joel Michael … (2015)

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.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Elizabeth A. H. Beckett: (View ORCID Profile)

Voula Gaganis: (View ORCID Profile)

Alan Hayes: (View ORCID Profile)

Deanne H. Hryciw: (View ORCID Profile)

Louise Lexis: (View ORCID Profile)

Kathy Tangalakis: (View ORCID Profile)

Journal

Title: Advances in Physiology Education

Abbreviated Title: Advances in Physiology Education

Publisher: American Physiological Society

ISSN (Print): 1043-4046

ISSN (Electronic): 1522-1229

Publication date Created: September 01 2023

Publication date (Print): September 01 2023

Volume: 47

Issue: 3

Pages: 427-435

Affiliations

[1 ]School of Biomedicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

[2 ]College of Medicine & Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

[3 ]School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

[4 ]First Year College, Victoria University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

[5 ]College of Health & Biomedicine, Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

[6 ]School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

[7 ]School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

[8 ]First Year College, Institute for Sustainable Industries & Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Article

DOI: 10.1152/advan.00141.2022

SO-VID: dbe187a2-9f08-45e3-9b57-6ee149da1c15

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