In physiology, a stimulus (plural stimuli) is a detectable change in the internal or external environment. The ability of an organism or organ to respond to external stimuli is called sensitivity.When a stimulus is applied to a sensory receptor, it normally elicits or influences a reflex via stimulus transduction.he endocrine system is affected largely by many internal and external stimuli. One internal stimulus that causes hormone release is blood pressure. Hypotension, or low blood pressure, is a large driving force for the release of vasopressin, a hormone which causes the retention of water in the kidneys.
Macrophages can be activated by cytokines such as interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and bacterial endotoxins, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Activated macrophages undergo many changes which allow them to kill invading bacteria or infected cells.
When a macrophage ingests a pathogen, the pathogen becomes trapped in a phagosome, which then fuses with a lysosome. Within the phagolysosome, enzymes and toxic peroxides digest the pathogen. However, some bacteria, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, have become resistant to these methods of digestion. Typhoidal Salmonellae too induce their own phagocytosis by host macrophages in vivo, and inhibit digestion by lysosomal action, thereby use macrophages to replicate and cause macrophage apoptosis.