Homeostasis Flash Cards
Anatomy
The branch of science concerned with the bodily structure of humans, animals, and other living organisms.
Physiology
The branch of biology that deals with the normal functions of living organisms and their parts.
Organelle
A subcellular structure that has one or more specific jobs to perform in the cell.
Cell
The smallest unit that can live on its own and that makes up all living organisms and the tissues of the body.
Tissue
A group of cells that have similar structure and that function together as a unit.
Organ
A collection of tissues that structurally form a functional unit specialized to perform a particular function.
Organ System
A biological system consisting of a group of organs that work together.
Metabolism
The chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.
Organism
An individual animal, plant, or single-celled life form.
Homeostasis
A relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements.
Control Center
A place from which an organization, activity, or system is centrally monitored and directed, or where operational devices and controls are housed.
Negative Feedback Mechanisms
A regulatory mechanism in which a ‘stimulus’ causes an opposite ‘output’ in order to maintain an ideal level of whatever is being regulated.
Receptor
An organ or cell able to respond to light, heat, or other external stimulus and transmit a signal to a sensory nerve.
Positive Feedback Mechanism
A process that occurs in a feedback loop which exacerbates the effects of a small disturbance.
Effector
An organ or cell that acts in response to a stimulus.
