Outside the limits of normal blood glucose during critical illness: failed homeostasis and quantifying allostatic load.

摘要

Homeostasis describes the normal steady state in a system. In the human body, there are multiple interacting dynamic equilibria, and internal regulatory mechanisms maintain an underlying order-life. Homeostasis incorporates concepts of a "set point" and the physiologic responses required for feedback and feedforward control. Allostasis is a modification of these ideas. Rather than maintaining constancy, the physiologic systems within the body fluctuate to meet demands from external forces