Asked in Home & Garden
What common household process if often compared to the way the endocrine system maintains homeostasis?
Answer
Wiki User
03/23/2011
The common household process that is often compared to the way the endocrine system maintains homeostasis is a furnace thermostat on the wall of a house.
In a house a thermostat is set at a specific temperature. When the temperature in the house falls below this designated temperature, the thermostat is triggered and signals the furnace to turn on and begin heating the house. Once the temperature of the house is above the designated temperature, the thermostat signals the furnace to turn off. This process is called negative feedback.
The endocrine also works in a negative feedback system to maintain homeostasis. An example of negative feedback in the endocrine system is the regulation of calcium levels. Parathyroid glands release parathyroid hormone (PTH), which regulates the blood calcium levels. If there is a decrease in blood calcium the parathyroid glands will secrete more PTH. Then the PTH stimulates the release of calcium from the bones into the bloodstream. If blood calcium levels increase too much, the parathyroid glands will reduce their production of PTH and less calcium will be released from the bones.