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Related Concept Videos

Thermoregulation01:26

Thermoregulation

The human body has a sophisticated thermoregulation system that employs negative feedback mechanisms to maintain an optimal core temperature. When the core temperature drops, peripheral and central thermoreceptors send signals to the hypothalamus, activating the heat-promoting center. This center triggers several responses aimed at increasing the core temperature. First, vasoconstriction reduces the flow of warm blood from internal organs to the skin so that the heat is not lost from the skin,...
Body Temperature01:25

Body Temperature

The body's temperature, measured in degrees, is determined by the balance between heat production and dissipation to the surrounding environment. For instance, if exercising vigorously, the body will produce more heat, causing sweat and dissipating that heat. Despite extreme environmental conditions and physical exertion, the human temperature-control system maintains a constant core body temperature (the temperature of deep tissues, which are the tissues located beneath the skin and other...
Body Temperature01:07

Body Temperature

Body temperature reflects the equilibrium between heat production and heat loss within the body. Most heat is generated by metabolically active tissues, particularly the liver, heart, brain, kidneys, and endocrine organs. At rest, skeletal muscles contribute 20–30% of total heat production, but during vigorous exercise, this can increase up to 30–40 times.
The average body temperature is approximately 37°C (98.6°F) and typically ranges from 36.1–37.2°C (97–99°F), remaining relatively stable...
Thermosensation01:43

Thermosensation

Peripheral thermosensation is the perception of external temperature. A change in temperature (on the surface of the skin and other tissues) is detected by a family of temperature-sensitive ion channels called Transient Receptor Potential, or TRP, receptors. These receptors are located on free nerve endings. Those detecting cold temperatures are closer to the surface of the skin than the nerve endings detecting warmth. These thermoTRP channels, while temperature selective, have relatively...
Mechanism of heat transfer01:19

Mechanism of heat transfer

Understanding heat transfer mechanisms is essential for understanding how our bodies maintain balance in different environmental conditions. When the environment is thermoneutral, the body is in a state of balance, neither using nor releasing energy to maintain its core temperature. However, when the environment is not thermoneutral, the body employs four heat transfer mechanisms to maintain homeostasis: conduction, convection, evaporation, and radiation. These mechanisms facilitate heat...
What is Homeostasis?01:16

What is Homeostasis?

Maintaining homeostasis requires that the body continuously maintain its internal conditions. Each physiological condition has a particular set point, from body temperature to blood pressure to levels of certain nutrients. A set point is the physiological value around which the normal range fluctuates. A normal range is a restricted set of values that is optimally healthful and stable. For example, the set point for normal human body temperature is approximately 37°C (98.6°F). Physiological...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 16, 2026

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions
07:54

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Published on: March 9, 2021

The thermoregulation story.

Daniel I Sessler1

  • 1Department of Outcomes Research, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. ds@or.org

Anesthesiology
|December 11, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

General anesthesia suppresses active thermoregulation. However, patients undergoing halothane anesthesia show significant vasoconstriction when their core temperature drops by about 2.5°C, indicating a delayed thermoregulatory response.

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Area of Science:

  • Anesthesiology
  • Physiology
  • Thermoregulation

Background:

  • Anesthetics are generally assumed to suppress thermoregulatory mechanisms.
  • The precise extent of active thermoregulation during general anesthesia remains unclear.
  • Available thermoregulatory responses in hypothermic anesthetized patients include vasoconstriction and nonshivering thermogenesis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the activity of thermoregulation during general anesthesia.
  • To determine the threshold for thermoregulatory responses under halothane anesthesia.
  • To assess the impact of anesthetic agents on the body's temperature control mechanisms.

Main Methods:

  • Measured skin-surface temperature gradients (forearm minus fingertip temperature) as an index of cutaneous vasoconstriction.
  • Studied unpremedicated patients anesthetized with 1% halothane and paralyzed with vecuronium during donor nephrectomy.
  • Randomly assigned patients to maximal warming or standard temperature management protocols.

Main Results:

  • Normothermic patients did not exhibit significant vasoconstriction.
  • Hypothermic patients showed significant vasoconstriction at esophageal temperatures between 34.0°C and 34.8°C.
  • Increased skin-temperature gradients correlated with decreased perfusion in hypothermic patients.

Conclusions:

  • Active thermoregulation occurs during halothane anesthesia but is initiated at a lower core temperature (approximately 2.5°C below normal).
  • Skin-surface temperature gradient measurement is a simple, noninvasive method to quantify the thermoregulatory threshold during anesthesia.
  • These findings highlight a delayed but present thermoregulatory response under general anesthesia.