A Structural Loop‑Model Analysis of Human Physiological Regulation: Thermoregulation, Labour and Glucose Homeostasis

This work presents a unified structural analysis of three major physiological systems — thermoregulation, oxytocin‑driven labour and glucose regulation — using a generalised loop‑model framework. The model identifies four universal components underlying physiological behaviour: a target state, a sensing mechanism, a corrective or amplifying mechanism and a delay between action and effect. By mapping these elements, the paper demonstrates how stabilising (balancing) loops maintain homeostasis, how reinforcing loops drive controlled escalation and how pathological loops emerge when balancing structures are weakened or inverted. The analysis includes Notepad‑safe ASCII diagrams illustrating each loop, detailed structural failure modes and a set of general intervention principles derived from the model. Additional sections discuss generalisation to other physiological systems, limitations of the approach and directions for future work. The findings show that diverse physiological processes share a common feedback architecture, offering a simple but powerful framework for understanding stability, escalation and dysfunction in human biology.