Final Exam and All Correct Answers
2026-2027 Updated.
What is homeostasis? - Answer Purposeful maintenance of stable internal environment
What are physiologic processes opposing change? - Answer Processes that counteract
changes in the internal environment
What are sensors and effectors in homeostasis? - Answer Sensors detect changes and
effectors return it to normal range
What is negative feedback? - Answer Feedback mechanism that counteracts changes and
returns to normal range
What is the purpose of negative feedback loops? - Answer To maintain stability and regulate
bodily functions
Give an example of a negative feedback loop. - Answer Thermostat triggering a response to
maintain temperature
What happens in a negative feedback loop when the function or value is increased above the
set point? - Answer The feedback mechanism causes it to decrease
What system extensively uses negative feedback loops? - Answer Endocrine system
What is a feed forward controller in the body? - Answer The brain
What are positive feedback loops? - Answer Feedback loops that generally lead to instability
Give examples of positive feedback loops. - Answer Pain cycle, cancer cell proliferation, heart
failure
What happens if positive feedback loops are unchecked? - Answer They can lead to a vicious
cycle of constant increase with no regulation
, Give an example of a positive feedback loop that is not always bad. - Answer Blood clotting -
good for plugging bleeding vessels, bad for promoting thrombosis
What happens during childbirth in terms of positive feedback? - Answer Head lodges,
increase in oxytocin, increase in uterine contraction
What happens during the follicular phase of menstruation in terms of positive feedback? -
Answer Estrogen stimulates release of LH, further estrogen secretion, further ovulation
What is stress? - Answer Response to any stimuli on the body, systemic demand
What are the symptoms related to activation of the neuroendocrine and immune systems? -
Answer Symptoms related to stress response
What is adaptation? - Answer The response to a stressor, the ability to return to a
homeostatic balance
What are stressors? - Answer Events or environments that can cause stress response
What are the types of stress? - Answer Distress (bad stress) and eustress (good stress)
Who are some famous physiologists and what did they study? - Answer Claude Bernard
studied constancy of body temperature, pH, sugar; Walter B. Cannon expanded on homeostasis
What is homeostasis? - Answer Maintenance of constant conditions in the internal
environment.
What are the stages of Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)? - Answer Alarm,
resistance, exhaustion.
What does SNS stand for? - Answer Sympathetic Nervous System.
What does HPA axis stand for? - Answer Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis.
What is the role of the HPA axis in neuroendocrine-immune system regulation? - Answer It is
involved in the stress response.