Homeostasis can be regarded as the central theme in physiology. So many things have to be maintained at correct levels in the body. They include electrolytes, dissolved gases in body fluids, optimum pH in body fluids and so on. Essentially all organs and tissues in the body perform functions that help maintain these constant conditions. For instance, the lungs provide oxygen to the ECF to replenish the oxygen used by cells, the kidneys maintain constant ion concentrations and the gastrointestinal system provide nutrients. During evolution, animals have become more complicated and specialized, so homeostasis has become more important in their physiology. Thus physiology can be viewed as a means by which homeostasis is maintained.
In the lower invertebrates, homeostasis is less apparent i.e. fewer aspects of the animals physiology are controlled and regulated. Many such animals do not maintain an internal environment that is different from their external. Such animals are said to conform, and any changes in the external environment are mirrored in the internal environment. But there are limits to the degree of change that can be tolerated because excessive changes can result in severe disruption and possibly death. For animals (e.g. mammals) which maintain an internal environment that differs from the external, the internal environment is said to be regulated. Homeostatic mechanisms maintain this difference and its constancy.
sharon kalunda answered the question on February 26, 2019 at 14:26
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