Temperature Regulation Flashcards
What are ectothermic animals?
Ectothermic/poikilothermic animals:
- Most invertebrates, fish, reptiles and amphibians
- Body temperature varies with the temperature of the environment
- Derive their body heat mainly from their surroundings
What are endothermic animals?
Endothermic/homeothermic animals:
- Mammals and birds
- Body temperature maintained within +/- 2˚C despite wide variation in environmental temperature
- Derive body heat mainly form metabolism
Why is maintenance of body temperature important?
- Biochemical reactions are sensitive to temperature
- Rates of enzyme reactions are dependent on temperature
- Most homeotherm enzymes have an optimum temperature close to core temperature
How is body heat gained?
Metabolic heat – from metabolism, exercise and shivering
Environmental heat – from radiation and conduction
How is body heat lost?
Radiation
Conduction
Convection
Evaporation
Distinguish shell and core temperature.
Shell temperature – temperature close to the skin, varies with temperature of environment.
Core temperature – brain and internal organs, less variation in temperature.
How does the cardiovascular system control shell and core temperatures?
CVS system controls this, the blood flow determining where blood is, shunted in the core to conserve temperature or in the periphery to give off heat.
What is thermoneutral zone?
Thermoneutral zone is where ambient temperature is influencing skin temperature only to the degree of moving blood in the body, no mechanisms for cooling or metabolism, shunting blood around alone is enough to maintain body temperature. So animals kept here so energy is not wasted and energy is all used for growing meat, producing milk or eggs.
Describe the negative feedback control system of temperature.
Thermosensors measure temperature in the skin and core. They feed information in into a controller, the hypothalamus. There are 2 distinct areas in the hypothalamus that control temperature. Hypothalamus will send out demands when it is comparing the inputs to a fixed set point. Any deviations from the set point will cause effector mechanisms to initiate mechanisms of heat loss or gain.
What are cutaneous thermoreceptors?
Cold and warm receptors. Free nerve endings that are temperature sensitive.
What are core thermosensors?
Central blood vessels (great veins) and abdominal viscera. These multiple thermosensors may permit finer control of core temperature.
What is the other form of thermosensor?
CNS thermosensors
Describe the role of the carotid rete in brain cooling.
- When information comes into the hypothalamus, it is able to regulate any changes that must occur for constant core temperature.
- Brain must maintain a constant temperature itself as neurones are very sensitive to temperature.
- Animals, not so much in primates, have a carotid rete, a counter current exchange system by which the brain maintains a constant temperature despite fluctuations in the body temperature.
- Cold air inhaled cools surrounding blood in the nasal cavities.
- This cools warm blood from the core through the arterial system, in opposite direction to arterial blood.
- So when blood leaves the rete mirabile, means the blood exiting the brain is cooler.
What are the hypothalamic roles of the preoptic area in temperature?
Heat-losing centre:
- Vasodilation to increase blood flow to skin
- Sweating
- Increased respiration through the mouth
- Inhibits heat promoting centre
What are the hypothalamic roles of the posterior nucleus in temperature?
Heat-promoting centre:
- Vasoconstriction
- Shivering thermogenesis
- Non-shivering thermogenesis
- Inhibits heat-losing centre