Regulation of heat by skin
- The skin’s immense blood supply helps regulate temperature: dilated vessels allow for heat loss, while constricted vessels retain heat.
- The skin regulates body temperature with its blood supply. …
- Humidity affects thermoregulation by limiting sweat evaporation and thus heat loss.
- Sweat glands in the dermis help regulate body temperature and excrete wastes.
- When blood vessels dilate, pores open in the skin that lead to the sweat glands.
- Perspiration moves out onto the skin. Thermal energy transfers from the body to the sweat on the skin.
- Part of our skin is made up of fat.
- This fat serves three large purposes:
- It helps cushion internal structures against any physical blows.
- It acts as a food source, protecting our body from the effects of starvation.
- It helps insulate us against cold temperatures.
- Body is constantly generating heat as a result of its various metabolic and physical processes.
- At rest, such an individual is expected to increase their body temperature by 1 C every 5 minutes.
- Vasodilation refers to the process of expanding (-dilation) the size of the blood vessels (vaso-).
- The now enlarged peripheral vessels of the skin allow for greater amounts of blood to flow near the surface of the skin.
- This allows for our body to release a lot of body heat through radiation.
- Radiation, in this case, refers to thermal radiation, which is the process of transferring heat through space via electromagnetic waves.
- At the same time, if a fluid such as circulating air or water in a pool comes into contact with the skin when we are very hot, this will allow for heat loss through the process of convection.
- If our skin touches a cold object (like a cold drink), then we will lose heat via the process of conduction, which is the direct heat transfer of heat from a hotter surface, to a colder surface touching that hotter surface.
- The body also thermoregulates via the process of sweating (perspiration).
