Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Simplified control circuit of human thermoregulation. [8]The core temperature of a human is regulated and stabilized primarily by the hypothalamus, a region of the brain linking the endocrine system to the nervous system, [9] and more specifically by the anterior hypothalamic nucleus and the adjacent preoptic area regions of the hypothalamus.
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature as its own body temperature, thus avoiding the need for internal thermoregulation.
Satisfaction with the thermal environment is important because thermal conditions are potentially life-threatening for humans if the core body temperature reaches conditions of hyperthermia, above 37.5–38.3 °C (99.5–100.9 °F), [11] [12] or hypothermia, below 35.0 °C (95.0 °F). [13]
[29] [30] Apart from the internal regulation of temperature, a process called allostasis can come into play that adjusts behaviour to adapt to the challenge of very hot or cold extremes (and to other challenges). [31] These adjustments may include seeking shade and reducing activity, seeking warmer conditions and increasing activity, or ...
Also: “Temperature is regulated near the same brain real estate that handles sleep,” adds W. Chris Winter, M.D., a neurologist and sleep specialist in Charlottesville, VA and member of ...
Sufficient stress from extreme external temperature may cause injury or death if it exceeds the ability of the body to thermoregulate. Hypothermia can set in when the core temperature drops to 35 °C (95 °F). [2] Hyperthermia can set in when the core body temperature rises above 37.5–38.3 °C (99.5–100.9 °F).
This is important because the core temperature of mammals can be controlled to be as close as possible to the optimal temperature for enzyme activity. The overall rate of an animal's metabolism increases by a factor of about two for every 10 °C (18 °F) rise in temperature, limited by the need to avoid hyperthermia. Endothermy does not provide ...
An ectotherm (from the Greek ἐκτός (ektós) "outside" and θερμός (thermós) "heat"), more commonly referred to as a "cold-blooded animal", [1] is an animal in which internal physiological sources of heat, such as blood, are of relatively small or of quite negligible importance in controlling body temperature. [2]