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Control of the organism's milieu intérieur by means of compensation mechanisms like feedforward, feedback, antagonistic redundancy or reafference.
The concept of homeostasis was first described in the 19th century by french physiologist Claude Bernard (La fixité du milieu interieur est la condition de la vie libre, independante [Bernard 1878]) while the term homeostasis has been coined by Walter B. Cannon (The coordinated physiological processes which maintain most of the steady states in the organism are so complex and so peculiar to living beings … that I have suggested a special designation for these states, homeostasis. … It means a condition - a condition which may vary, but which is relatively constant.[Cannon 1926])
References:
Bernard, C. (1878). Les phénomènes de la vie. Paris, éditions Baillère.
Cannon, W. B. (1926). “Physiological regulation of normal states: some tentative postulates concerning biological homeostatics.” Jubilee volume for Charles Richet: 91-3.
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