Happy Wednesday! The Word of the Day is:
- Homeostasis-
[pronounced ho-mee-uh-stay-sis]
n.
1) The tendency of a system, especially the physiological system of higher animals, to maintain internal stability through the coordinated response of its parts to any stimulus that disturbs its normal condition or function.
2) A state of psychological equilibrium obtained when a tension or a drive has been reduced or eliminated.
3) The maintenance of metabolic equilibrium within an animal by a tendency to compensate for disrupting changes.
4) The process of maintaining a stable psychological state in the individual under varying psychological pressures or stable social conditions in a group under varying social, environmental, or political factors.
An Example of Homeostasis
A simple example of homeostasis is the body's ability to maintain an internal temperature around 98.6 degrees fahrenheit, whatever the temperature outside may be.
Word Origin
The word "homeostasis" originated around 1926 from the Greek word homoios, meaning "of the same kind," and the word stasis, meaning "standing still."
