{"id":8189,"date":"2026-08-09T20:43:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T18:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/knowledge-base\/expert-guides\/living-flows\/continuous-flow-organization\/living-body-continuous-flows\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T22:44:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T21:44:00","slug":"living-body-continuous-flows","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/en\/knowledge-base\/expert-guides\/living-flows\/continuous-flow-organization\/living-body-continuous-flows\/","title":{"rendered":"KB 3_Expert Guide_02_Living Flows_01_Continuous-Flow Organization_01_The Living Body: A Continuous-Flow Organization"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<!-- BDC \u2014 Continuous-Flow Organization - A1_The Living Body: A Continuous-Flow Organization \u2014 Blue Portance -->\n\n<style>\n    .bp-bdc-breadcrumb{\n      max-width: 900px;\n      margin: 0 auto;\n      padding: 20px 16px 0;\n      font-size: .85rem;\n      color: #6b7280;\n    }\n    .bp-bdc-breadcrumb a{\n      color: #2a7fba;\n      text-decoration: none;\n    }\n    .bp-bdc-breadcrumb a:hover{\n      text-decoration: underline;\n    }\n\n  .bp-figure {\n      margin: 40px auto;\n      text-align: center;\n      max-width: 760px;\n  }\n\n  .bp-figure img {\n      display: block;\n      margin: 0 auto;\n      max-width: 100%;\n      height: auto;\n      border-radius: 8px;\n  }\n\n  .bp-figure figcaption {\n      margin: 10px auto 0;\n      max-width: 650px;\n      text-align: center;\n      color: #666;\n      font-size: 0.85em;\n      line-height: 1.45;\n  }\n\n  .bp-fig-title {\n      display: block;\n      margin: 0 0 4px;\n      padding: 0;\n      font-style: normal;\n      font-weight: 700;\n      font-size: 1em;\n      color: #333;\n      line-height: 1.3;\n  }\n\n  .bp-fig-text {\n      display: block;\n      margin: 0;\n      padding: 0;\n      font-style: italic;\n  }\n  \n    .bp-bdc-navigation a::before{content:\"\u2190 \";}\n  <\/style>\n\n<nav class=\"bp-bdc-breadcrumb\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n  <a href=\"\/en\/\">Blue Portance<\/a> \u2192 <a href=\"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/en\/knowledge-base\/\">Knowledge Base<\/a> \u2192 <a href=\"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/en\/knowledge-base\/expert-guides\/\">Expert Guides<\/a> \u2192 <a href=\"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/en\/knowledge-base\/expert-guides\/living-flows\/\">Living Flows<\/a> \u2192 <a href=\"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/en\/knowledge-base\/expert-guides\/living-flows\/continuous-flow-organization\/\">Continuous-Flow Organization<\/a> \u2192 The Living Body\n<\/nav>\n\n\n\n\n<section class=\"bp-bdc-wrap\">\n\n  <header class=\"bp-bdc-hero\">\n    <h1>1. The Living Body: A Continuous-Flow Organization<\/h1>\n    <p>Knowledge Base \u2013 Expert Guide: Continuous-Flow Organization<\/p>\n    <div class=\"bp-bdc-meta\">Blue Portance Knowledge Base \u00b7 Non-commercial reproduction permitted with source attribution<\/div>\n  <\/header>\n\n  <p>\n    At first glance, the body seems to be a stable structure. Its overall shape, its organs and its tissues\n    appear relatively constant from one day to the next. Yet this stability is only apparent. In\n    reality, it rests on continuous exchanges of matter and energy, as well as on the renewal of\n    many of its components. To begin with, this first article lays the groundwork. The following chapters will then\n    detail the underlying mechanisms: the internal environment, the extracellular matrix, mechanical stresses,\n    mechanotransduction, biological rhythms and the seated position.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <nav class=\"bp-bdc-toc\" aria-label=\"Contents\">\n    <h2>Contents<\/h2>\n    <ul>\n      <li><a href=\"#systeme-ouvert\">1. The body as an open system<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#metabolisme\">2. Inputs, transformations and outputs: the exchanges that sustain metabolism<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#renouvellement\">3. The continuous renewal of components<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#structure-processus\">4. Anatomical structure and living process: an essential distinction<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#homeostasie\">5. Homeostasis: a dynamic balance, not immobility<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#so-what\">6. What this changes for seated posture<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#references\">Scientific References<\/a><\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n  <\/nav>\n\n  <article class=\"bp-bdc-content\">\n\n  <section id=\"systeme-ouvert\">\n  <h2>1. The body as an open system<\/h2>\n\n  <p>\n    In biology, an open system is an organization that continuously exchanges with its\n    environment. This exchange involves both matter and energy. By contrast, a closed system\n    would exchange only energy, and an isolated system would exchange nothing at all. The living body\n    falls into the first category.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    As early as 1968, the biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy formalized this idea in his general systems\n    theory. A living organism cannot be understood as a static object. Instead, it maintains itself\n    precisely by remaining open to exchanges with its surroundings <span class=\"bp-inline-ref\">(Bertalanffy, 1968)<\/span>. In fact,\n    this openness is not one option among others: it is the very condition of its existence.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    This guide takes a broad view of these exchanges: matter and energy, but also information. Here, the\n    latter term is understood in the biological sense. It refers in particular to any signal capable of altering the state\n    or activity of a living system <span class=\"bp-inline-ref\">(Hoke et al., 2021)<\/span>. However, sensory and nerve flows\n    as such will be covered in a separate sub-guide.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Describing the body solely through its anatomy \u2014 its bones, its muscles, its joints \u2014\n    is not enough. Indeed, it is a bit like photographing a river without showing the flowing water. The shape\n    remains recognizable, while part of the components that sustain it is continuously transferred,\n    transformed or renewed.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3 id=\"living-organization-thermodynamics\">A living organization far from equilibrium<\/h3>\n\n  <figure class=\"bp-figure\">\n    <img decoding=\"async\"\n      src=\"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flux-a1-1-the-living-body-an-open-and-continuously-maintained-organization.png\"\n      alt=\"The body as an open system: inputs, internal transformations, regulation and outputs.\"\n      class=\"bp-figure-image\"\n      loading=\"lazy\"\n    >\n\n    <figcaption class=\"bp-figure-caption\">\n      <span class=\"bp-fig-title\">\n        Figure 1 \u2014 The living body: an open and continuously maintained organization\n      <\/span>\n\n      <span class=\"bp-fig-text\">\n        Living systems maintain their organization through continuous exchanges of matter and energy. \u00a9 Blue Portance 2026.\n      <\/span>\n    <\/figcaption>\n  <\/figure>\n\n  <p>\n    In 1944, in\n    <em>What Is Life?<\/em>, the physicist Erwin Schr\u00f6dinger put forward an idea that has since become classic. A living\n    organism, he argued, maintains its organization through continuous exchanges with its environment. These\n    exchanges involve both matter and energy <span class=\"bp-inline-ref\">(Schr\u00f6dinger, 1944)<\/span>. An isolated\n    system, by contrast, spontaneously evolves toward a state of thermodynamic equilibrium in which usable\n    gradients fade away.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"metabolisme\">\n  <h2>2. Inputs, transformations and outputs: the exchanges that sustain metabolism<\/h2>\n\n  <p>\n    In practice, this exchange takes the form of three simultaneous movements. First, the body takes in matter\n    and energy \u2014 oxygen, water, nutrients. Next, it transforms them through successive metabolic\n    reactions. It then eliminates the products of this transformation \u2014 carbon dioxide, heat, nitrogenous\n    waste.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    These transformations rely in particular on adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. This molecule\n    is the main immediately usable form of chemical energy for many cellular\n    functions. Among other things, it powers the maintenance of ion gradients across\n    membranes. It is also involved in active transport and muscle contraction. It likewise supports\n    signaling, as well as the synthesis and repair of tissue components\n    <span class=\"bp-inline-ref\">(Nelson &amp; Cox, 2021)<\/span>.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Metabolism thus refers to the organized set of reactions that transform matter and energy within\n    the organism. This transformation operates from the molecular scale up to the scale of tissues. It\n    classically has two complementary sides. Catabolism breaks down complex molecules to\n    release their energy. Conversely, anabolism uses this energy to synthesize the components\n    needed for tissue growth and renewal. In short, without this metabolic activity,\n    the organism could not sustainably maintain its gradients, its cellular functions or its physiological\n    organization.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    This metabolism is not uniform, however: its intensity varies greatly from one organ to another. Expressed\n    per kilogram of tissue, for example, it is far higher in the heart and kidneys than in resting skeletal\n    muscle. Adipose tissue, by contrast,\n    consumes comparatively very little energy <span class=\"bp-inline-ref\">(Wang et al., 2010)<\/span>. This\n    metabolic heterogeneity at the organ level foreshadows the diversity of rhythms also found\n    at the molecular and cellular levels. The next chapter will explore this diversity.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"renouvellement\">\n  <h2>3. The continuous renewal of components<\/h2>\n\n  <p>\n    This flow is not limited to the supply of energy. It also involves the material renewal\n    of the body&#8217;s components themselves. Proteins, membrane lipids and even some components of\n    the extracellular matrix are continuously broken down and then resynthesized. These renewal rates\n    nevertheless vary greatly from one molecule and one tissue to another.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>Three nested levels of renewal<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    This renewal is also organized on several nested levels, which should be distinguished. For example,\n    a molecule can be broken down and resynthesized without the organelle it belongs to ceasing to\n    function. Likewise, an organelle can itself be renewed without the cell that houses it disappearing.\n    A cell, for its part, may be replaced within a few days, depending on the tissue. Or, conversely, it may\n    persist throughout an individual&#8217;s entire life. This, however, says nothing about the renewal rate of its\n    own internal molecules. The macroscopic stability of a tissue \u2014 the stability visible to the naked eye \u2014 therefore\n    tells us nothing about the persistence of its cells. Nor does it tell us anything about the persistence of their\n    molecular components. These are three distinct scales, each evolving at its own pace.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    These three scales can be illustrated with a few common examples. Circulating red blood cells\n    are renewed in roughly a hundred days. They are then eliminated and replaced by\n    new cells produced by the bone marrow. The epithelium lining the intestine renews itself in\n    barely a few days. It is thus one of the most rapidly replaced tissues in the body.\n    By contrast, the outer layer of the epidermis takes several weeks to renew itself completely\n    <span class=\"bp-inline-ref\">(Sender &amp; Milo, 2021)<\/span>. In other words, these very different\n    cellular rhythms say nothing about the rate of molecular renewal. This holds for every tissue, whatever\n    its cells.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>Highly unequal renewal rates<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    These rhythms are spread across very different time scales. For example, energy molecules\n    and certain metabolites are renewed within seconds to hours. Many cellular\n    proteins, for their part, have variable lifespans, ranging from a few hours to\n    several months depending on the tissue. Meanwhile, blood cells and epithelial cells\n    are replaced within days to months. By contrast, some components of the extracellular\n    matrix persist for several months, or even several years.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    This heterogeneity calls for correcting a common misconception. Contrary to a fairly widespread image, the body\n    does not renew all of its matter at regular intervals. Some structures are, on the contrary,\n    remarkably stable. Certain proteins in the nucleus of the eye&#8217;s lens, called crystallins, are\n    extremely stable. They show virtually no detectable turnover after their\n    formation <span class=\"bp-inline-ref\">(Lynnerup et al., 2008)<\/span>. Similarly, one study focused in particular on\n    the human occipital cortex. Some neurons there had an age comparable to that of the individual. The\n    surrounding non-neuronal cells, on the other hand, had been renewed\n    <span class=\"bp-inline-ref\">(Spalding et al., 2005)<\/span>. In\n    the rat brain, structural proteins showed exceptionally long lifespans. These\n    included, in particular, certain components of nuclear pore complexes and certain histones. They\n    nevertheless retained slow but measurable exchange <span class=\"bp-inline-ref\">(Toyama et al., 2013)<\/span>.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    This continuous yet heterogeneous renewal explains an apparent paradox. A bodily structure can\n    remain visually stable for years. Yet a large share of its components has been\n    transformed or replaced in the meantime. These rhythms vary widely from one molecule and one tissue to another.\n    The shape persists, while part of its matter is continuously transferred, transformed or\n    renewed.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <figure class=\"bp-figure\">\n    <img decoding=\"async\"\n      src=\"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flux-a1-2-body-stability-encompasses-several-rhythms-of-renewal.png\"\n      alt=\"Comparison of the renewal rhythms of molecules, cells and tissues, from a few seconds to several years.\"\n      class=\"bp-figure-image\"\n      loading=\"lazy\"\n    >\n\n    <figcaption class=\"bp-figure-caption\">\n      <span class=\"bp-fig-title\">\n        Figure 2 \u2014 Body stability encompasses several rhythms of renewal\n      <\/span>\n\n      <span class=\"bp-fig-text\">\n        The body&#8217;s apparent stability conceals very different renewal rates depending on the components and tissues involved. \u00a9 Blue Portance 2026.\n      <\/span>\n    <\/figcaption>\n  <\/figure>\n\n  <h3>Molecular renewal and cellular persistence: the example of muscle<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    Skeletal muscle clearly illustrates this distinction between scales. A large proportion of its fibers\n    are post-mitotic cells. These cells persist for years, or even throughout the individual&#8217;s\n    life, without cell division. Yet this cellular persistence does not mean molecular\n    stability. In mice, quantitative proteomics studies have measured highly heterogeneous protein\n    half-lives. These measurements concerned skeletal muscle tissue. For example, some proteins were\n    renewed within a few hours, others over several months <span class=\"bp-inline-ref\">(Rolfs et al., 2021)<\/span>. This\n    finding, obtained in animals, illustrates the general principle rather than providing a direct measurement in humans.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Heart muscle offers a comparable, though even more nuanced, example. Contrary to a long-held\n    belief, human cardiomyocytes do renew themselves, albeit very slowly. Moreover, their annual\n    renewal rate declines with age. Specifically, it falls from about 1% per year around age 25 to less than\n    0.5% around age 75. Fewer than half of an individual&#8217;s cardiomyocytes are thus replaced over an entire\n    lifetime <span class=\"bp-inline-ref\">(Bergmann et al., 2009)<\/span>. A long-lived muscle cell can therefore\n    renew a large part of its molecular content and even, very slowly, renew itself. However, this\n    does not undermine the apparent stability of the tissue it forms.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"structure-processus\">\n  <h2>4. Anatomical structure and living process: an essential distinction<\/h2>\n\n  <p>\n    This distinction between structure and process is central to this guide. An anatomical structure\n    describes a shape at a given moment \u2014 a bone, a muscle, a joint. A living process, by contrast,\n    describes what is continuously happening within and around that shape. More precisely,\n    exchanges, transformations and renewal form its fabric.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    According to one theoretical framework of biological autonomy, the organism behaves as an open,\n    self-maintaining system. It produces and maintains its own components over time. This organism therefore\n    does not function as a fixed assembly of parts <span class=\"bp-inline-ref\">(Moreno &amp; Mossio, 2015)<\/span>. In other words, anatomy\n    describes a geometry; physiology describes an activity. Both perspectives are necessary, but\n    neither can replace the other.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"homeostasie\">\n  <h2>5. Homeostasis: a dynamic balance, not immobility<\/h2>\n\n  <p>\n    It was the physiologist Walter Cannon who introduced the term homeostasis in 1929. He\n    used it to describe the organism&#8217;s ability to maintain the relative constancy of its internal environment \u2014\n    temperature, pH, various concentrations. This constancy persists despite variations in its environment\n    <span class=\"bp-inline-ref\">(Cannon, 1929)<\/span>.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    This constancy, however, should not be confused with an absence of movement. On the\n    contrary, it results from active and continuous regulation. This regulation constantly adjusts inputs and\n    outputs to offset disturbances. Homeostasis is therefore a maintained balance, not a\n    fixed state. It is thus distinct from the material renewal of tissues (Chapter 3) and from their adaptation\n    to mechanical stresses, which follow different logics and time scales.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    When a variable drifts away from its usual range, corrective mechanisms kick in to bring it\n    back within that range. These mechanisms include, among others, vasodilation, shivering and\n    hormonal secretions. This regulation can be observed, for example, in the maintenance of\n    body temperature or blood glucose. Homeostasis therefore does not lock any value in place. Rather, it keeps\n    variables within limits compatible with the organism&#8217;s functioning, through constant corrective\n    activity.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"so-what\">\n  <h2>6. What this changes for seated posture<\/h2>\n\n  <div class=\"bp-box bp-box--info\">\n    <strong>Caution<\/strong>\n    <p>\n      Physiology firmly establishes one point: living systems maintain themselves through continuous exchanges,\n      not through immobility. This general finding does not, however, establish that any particular seating device\n      would by itself improve cellular function. The link between the two remains conceptual. It will be\n      clarified chapter by chapter. As it progresses, this guide will address the extracellular matrix,\n      mechanical stresses and then the seated position itself.\n    <\/p>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <p>\n    This first chapter thus mainly sets out a principle for interpretation. Specifically, maintaining a shape or a\n    posture does not mean an absence of internal activity. A seat should therefore not be assessed solely\n    on its ability to maintain a predefined alignment. The mechanical conditions\n    it maintains over time must also be considered. Account must also be taken of the freedom left to the\n    person to spontaneously change their posture and their support points.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    The following chapters detail what these exchanges concretely involve: the internal environment of\n    cells, then the extracellular matrix. They also describe the physical mechanisms \u2014 diffusion,\n    osmosis, filtration \u2014 that enable the transfer of matter within tissues.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Ultimately, the living body appears stable because it maintains its organization, not because it remains\n    still. This organization depends on constant exchanges of matter and energy. In addition, these exchanges are\n    sustained at heterogeneous rhythms, depending on the molecules, cells and tissues involved. The\n    following articles in this guide will each take up one of these mechanisms to clarify how it works.\n    Ultimately, they will spell out its implications for the seated position.\n  <\/p>\n\n\n  <\/section>\n\n  <hr>\n\n  <section id=\"references\">\n    <div class=\"bp-box bp-box--info\">\n      <h2>Scientific References<\/h2>\n\n      <h3>Open system, metabolism and homeostasis<\/h3>\n      <ol>\n        <li>Bertalanffy, L. von. (1968). <em>General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications.<\/em> New York: George Braziller.<\/li>\n        <li>Cannon, W. B. (1929). Organization for physiological homeostasis. <em>Physiological Reviews<\/em>, 9(3), 399\u2013431.<\/li>\n        <li>Hoke, K. L., Zimmer, S. L., Roddy, A. B., Ondrechen, M. J., Williamson, C. E., &amp; Buan, N. R. (2021). Reintegrating biology through the nexus of energy, information, and matter. <em>Integrative and Comparative Biology<\/em>, 61(6), 2082\u20132094.<\/li>\n        <li>Moreno, A., &amp; Mossio, M. (2015). <em>Biological Autonomy: A Philosophical and Theoretical Enquiry.<\/em> Dordrecht: Springer.<\/li>\n        <li>Nelson, D. L., &amp; Cox, M. M. (2021). <em>Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry<\/em> (8th ed.). New York: W. H. Freeman.<\/li>\n        <li>Schr\u00f6dinger, E. (1944). <em>What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell.<\/em> Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.<\/li>\n        <li>Wang, Z., Ying, Z., Bosy-Westphal, A., Zhang, J., Schautz, B., Later, W., Heymsfield, S. B., &amp; M\u00fcller, M. J. (2010). Specific metabolic rates of major organs and tissues across adulthood: evaluation by mechanistic model of resting energy expenditure. <em>The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition<\/em>, 92(6), 1369\u20131377.<\/li>\n      <\/ol>\n\n      <h3>Renewal and biological time scales<\/h3>\n      <ol>\n        <li>Bergmann, O., Bhardwaj, R. D., Bernard, S., Zdunek, S., Barnab\u00e9-Heider, F., Walsh, S., Zupicich, J., Alkass, K., Buchholz, B. A., Druid, H., Jovinge, S., &amp; Fris\u00e9n, J. (2009). Evidence for cardiomyocyte renewal in humans. <em>Science<\/em>, 324(5923), 98\u2013102.<\/li>\n        <li>Lynnerup, N., Kjeldsen, H., Heegaard, S., Jacobsen, C., &amp; Heinemeier, J. (2008). Radiocarbon dating of the human eye lens crystallines reveal proteins without carbon turnover throughout life. <em>PLoS ONE<\/em>, 3(1), e1529.<\/li>\n        <li>Rolfs, Z., Frey, B. L., Shi, X., Kawai, Y., Smith, L. M., &amp; Welham, N. V. (2021). An atlas of protein turnover rates in mouse tissues. <em>Nature Communications<\/em>, 12, 6778.<\/li>\n        <li>Sender, R., &amp; Milo, R. (2021). The distribution of cellular turnover in the human body. <em>Nature Medicine<\/em>, 27(1), 45\u201348.<\/li>\n        <li>Spalding, K. L., Bhardwaj, R. D., Buchholz, B. A., Druid, H., &amp; Fris\u00e9n, J. (2005). Retrospective birth dating of cells in humans. <em>Cell<\/em>, 122(1), 133\u2013143.<\/li>\n        <li>Toyama, B. H., Arrojo e Drigo, R., Lev-Ram, V., Ramachandra, R., Deerinck, T. J., Lechene, C., Ellisman, M. H., &amp; Hetzer, M. W. (2013). Identification of long-lived proteins reveals exceptional stability of essential cellular structures. <em>Cell<\/em>, 154(5), 971\u2013982.<\/li>\n      <\/ol>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <\/article>\n\n  <!-- NAVIGATION -->\n  <nav class=\"bp-bdc-box bp-bdc-navigation\" aria-label=\"Topic navigation\">\n    <strong>Navigation<\/strong>\n    <p>\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/en\/knowledge-base\/expert-guides\/living-flows\/continuous-flow-organization\/\">\n        Back to the Continuous-Flow Organization guide\n      <\/a>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/en\/knowledge-base\/expert-guides\/living-flows\/\">\n        See the topic: Living Flows\n      <\/a>\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/en\/knowledge-base\/expert-guides\/\">\n        Explore the Expert Guides section of the Knowledge Base\n      <\/a>\n    <\/p>\n  <\/nav>\n\n  <!-- NOTE -->\n  <footer class=\"bp-bdc-footer\">\n    <strong>Note<\/strong>: this content is intended to explain mechanisms.\n    It is neither a medical diagnosis nor a treatment prescription.\n  <\/footer>\n\n  <p class=\"bp-bdc-copyright\" style=\"font-size:.85em;color:#6b7280;margin-top:16px;\">\n    \u00a9 Gil Ayache. The concepts, diagrams, terminology and principles presented on this page are a work\n    protected by copyright. They are made available to Blue Portance under an intellectual property\n    licensing agreement, without transfer of economic rights or authorship.\n  <\/p>\n\n\n<\/section>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blue Portance \u2192 Knowledge Base \u2192 Expert Guides \u2192 Living Flows \u2192 Continuous-Flow Organization \u2192 The Living Body 1. The Living Body: A Continuous-Flow Organization Knowledge Base \u2013 Expert Guide: Continuous-Flow Organization Blue Portance Knowledge Base \u00b7 Non-commercial reproduction permitted with source attribution At first glance, the body seems to be a stable structure. 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