Regulated change

40, $49.95· When I first read the title of this book, Rheostasis, and the subtitle, The Physiology of Change, I thought that it somehow had to do with blood flow or possibly with a broader range of fluid flow topics. Or with more words: "Rheostasis refers to a condition or state in which, at an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNature Vol. 349; no. 6312; pp. 750 - 751
Main Author Schmidt-Nielsen, Knut
Format Journal Article Book Review
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group 28.02.1991
Subjects
Bernard, Claude (1813-1878)
Blood flow
Body temperature
Fluid dynamics
Fluid flow
Homeostasis
Negative feedback
Physiology
North Carolina
United Kingdom > UK
United States > US
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Summary:40, $49.95· When I first read the title of this book, Rheostasis, and the subtitle, The Physiology of Change, I thought that it somehow had to do with blood flow or possibly with a broader range of fluid flow topics. Or with more words: "Rheostasis refers to a condition or state in which, at any one instant, homeostatic defenses are still present but over a span of time there is a change in the regulated level. [...]rheostasis includes a change in set-point, both when the term is used descriptively without specifying mechanism . . . and when it is used to indicate a mechanism comprising negative feedback with a reference signal." [...]the greatest weakness in the book is that rheostasis is presented "in terms of observed phenomena, rather than in terms of underlying mechanisms".
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/349750b0