Week 1-2: CONTROL OF INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

More than 100 years ago, the French physiologist Claude Bernard observed that the “milieu interior” (internal environment) of the body remained remarkably constant despite a changing external environment. The fact that the body maintains a relatively constant internal environment in spite of stressors (e.g., heat, cold, exercise) is not an accident but is the result of many control systems. Control mechanisms that are responsible for maintaining a stable internal environment constitute a major chapter in exercise physiology, and it is helpful to examine their function in light of simple control theory. Therefore, this chapter introduces the concept of “control systems” and discusses how the body maintains a relatively constant internal environment during periods of stress.

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