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.
However, endothermic homeotherms (generally referred to as "warm-blooded" animals) not only produce more heat but also possess superior means of retaining and regulating it compared to other animals. They exhibit a higher basal metabolic rate and can further increase their metabolic rate during strenuous activity.
Thermogenesis is the process of heat production in organisms.It occurs in all warm-blooded animals, and also in a few species of thermogenic plants such as the Eastern skunk cabbage, the Voodoo lily (Sauromatum venosum), and the giant water lilies of the genus Victoria.
There are two types of heat the body is adapted to, humid heat and dry heat, but the body adapts to both in similar ways. Humid heat is characterized by warmer temperatures with a high amount of water vapor in the air, while dry heat is characterized by warmer temperatures with little to no vapor, such as desert conditions.
This internal body temperature is often, though not necessarily, higher than the immediate environment [2] (from Greek ὅμοιος homoios "similar" and θέρμη thermē "heat"). Homeothermy is one of the 3 types of thermoregulation in warm-blooded animal species. Homeothermy's opposite is poikilothermy. A poikilotherm is an organism that ...
The resting human body generates about two-thirds of its heat through metabolism in internal organs in the thorax and abdomen, as well as in the brain. The brain generates about 16% of the total heat produced by the body. [8] Heat loss is a major threat to smaller creatures, as they have a larger ratio of surface area to volume.
As in other mammals, thermoregulation is an important aspect of human homeostasis. Most body heat is generated in the deep organs, especially the liver, brain, and heart, and in contraction of skeletal muscles. [15] Humans have been able to adapt to a great diversity of climates, including hot humid and hot arid.
Since small mammals have a high ratio of heat-losing surface area to heat-generating volume, they tend to have high energy requirements and a high metabolic rate. Mammals that weigh less than about 18 ounces (510 g; 1.1 lb) are mostly insectivorous because they cannot tolerate the slow, complex digestive process of an herbivore.