What do you call the tendency of the body to maintain a balanced internal state?

The tendency of the body to maintain a balanced internal state is referred to as homeostasis. This concept is vital in physiology, as it describes the processes through which the body regulates various parameters such as temperature, pH levels, hydration, and electrolyte balance to keep them within a narrow range suitable for survival.

For example, when the body gets too hot, mechanisms such as sweating are activated to bring down the body temperature. Similarly, if blood glucose levels drop, the body releases glucose from stored sources to balance it out. Homeostasis is crucial because it ensures that all bodily functions operate optimally, reflecting the dynamic equilibrium necessary for health.

The other terms offered in the choices relate to different concepts: metabolism refers to the chemical processes that occur within a living organism to maintain life, homeopathy is a system of alternative medicine based on the principle of treating "like with like," and equilibrium generally describes a state of balance but does not specifically pertain to biological processes in the same way homeostasis does.