This article illustrates how a negative feedback loop works.
It offers examples to help you understand what’s involved in achieving and maintaining biological homeostasis.
It does this through a negative feedback loop.
Illustration by Sydney Saporito for Verywell Health
What that means is that the speed of production is sensitive to the amount of Product X.
When it starts to build up, production slows.
Too much product building up can cause damage.
However, if the shelves are empty, there’s plenty of space on which to stock the product.
The opposite of this would be a positive feedback loop.
In that case, the more Product X there is, the faster the plant will make more.
What Is a Positive Feedback Loop?
A positive feedback loop is when the product of a reaction leads to an increase in that reaction.
This causes uterine contractions, which leads to more oxytocin being released.
This brings on stronger contractions and eventually helps lead to the baby’s birth.
Homeostasis is very important in the human body.
Many systems have to self regulate for the body to stay in optimal ranges for health.
Negative feedback loops regulate and maintain different functions in the body to keep the systems in balance.
The body’s positive and negative feedback loops keep glucose levels within this narrow range.
Vaginal pH is regulated by a “good” bacteria found naturally in the vagina calledlactobacilli.
Lactobacilli are tasked with producing lactic acid to maintain an optional vaginal pH of between 3.8 and 5.0.
