Thermoregulation is a self-sufficient process that allows animals to maintain their body temperature regardless of environmental conditions. It is a form of homeostasis that ensures the consistent temperature is maintained within an organism, ensuring the organ systems may operate normally. Organisms may be classified into endotherms and ectotherms, based on the ways in which they regulate internal body temperature.
Endotherms utilize thermoregulation to keep a stable internal temperature regardless of their surroundings, whereas ectotherms depend on the environment for body heat (Morrison, 2016). Humans are endothermic organisms, which allows us to function throughout the year without major variations. Additionally, thermoregulation is part of the adaptation and resistance process that occurs within the human body in response to infections and other pathogens.
The hypothalamus, in particular, is in charge of thermoregulation in the brain, alongside other crucial functions, despite constituting only around 1% of the total brain weight. The hypothalamus automatically transmits signals to the skin, glands, muscles, and organs if the temperature inside sufficiently exceeds or falls below 37 degrees Celsius. The body’s response to such signals often results in sweating, one of the most visible manifestations of the thermoregulation in the human body. Sweating allows the organism to cool itself, reducing heat through the process of liquid evaporation.
When thermoregulation is disrupted, it affects a variety of organs and bodily systems on the level of essential physical well-being. The heart rhythm and blood circulation are often the first to be affected, as greater pressure is put on them in cases of accelerated internal body temperature. Intravascular volume depletion can occur in the circulatory system, and blood pressure is likely to increase (Hsu et al., 2017). The opposite scenarios of hypothermia are no less damaging for the organism, with ventricular fibrillation occurring in the cardiovascular system and reduced blood flow leading to nervous system failure.
It is evident that proper thermoregulation is essential for the proper and healthy functioning of the human body on all levels. Severe variations of internal temperature from the norm, regardless of whether increased or decreased, might be extremely damaging to the condition of various organs. Furthermore, they tend to be a disease symptom, and may therefore be viewed as a signal with which one’s body demands urgent intervention.
References
Hsu, P., Liu, C., Song, A., Zhang, Z., Peng, Y., & Xie, J. et al. (2017). A dual-mode textile for human body radiative heating and cooling. Science Advances, 3(11), e1700895. Web.
Li, L., Wu, W., Chen, S., Gu, J., Li, X., & Song, H. et al. (2020). Digestive system involvement of novel coronavirus infection: Prevention and control infection from a gastroenterology perspective. Journal Of Digestive Diseases, 21(4), 199-204. Web.
Morrison, S. (2016). Central control of body temperature. F1000research, 5, 880. Web.
Rehfeld, A., Nylander, M., & Karnov, K. (2017). The Digestive System II: The Associated Organs. Compendium Of Histology, 475-493. Web.