Temperature regulation

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When it's hot and you need to cool down, muscles at each hair relax.

Hairs lie close to the skin.

Air does not act as an insulating layer.

Slide 13

Sweating

How does it work?

Heat energy in the body is used to convert the water in sweat to vapour cooling down the body.

Slide 14

Correction of overcooling

Detected by thermoreceptors in the hypothalamus.

Causes vasoconstriction.

Decreased sweating

Shivering

Slide 15

Keeping warm

When it's cold, the muscle contracts pulls the hair up.

A layer of warm air accumulates around the hair and insulates the organism.

Heat retained

Slide 16

Shivering

How does it work?

Slide 17

Voluntary responses

In humans the cerebrum “makes” people feel cold or hot.

They can then e.g. put on more clothes, eat a hot meal, exercise etc as appropriate.