8.

Body Temperature Regulation

Vertebrate animal may be classified into two groups based on their ability to
regulate their body temperature with respect to the environment:

(1) Homeotherms or warm-blooded animals – whose body temperature is largely

independent of that of the environment.
(2) Poikilotherm or cold-blooded animals – whose body temperature varies
directly with that of the environment.

Homeotherms attain body temperature constancy by:

1) Chemical regulation

a) Altering the metabolic rate by adjusting the production of certain hormones

such as thyroxin and/or epinephrine.
b) Shivering and changing muscle tension – the animal performs no external
work while shivering because its position does not change, but the energy
developed in the transfer of chemical-substrate energy to mechanical work
of muscular contraction is liberated as heat within the muscles.

2) Physical devices and activities

a) Sweating with evaporation of water from the skin.

b) Changing the rate of breathing to alter vaporization from the lungs.
c) Altering the volume of blood flowing to the body surface by vasodilation or
vasoconstriction.
d) Changing the amount of internal or external thermal insulation such as
subcutaneous fat, feathers, fur, hair or clothing.
e) Changing the “free” body surface area by lying down and huddling when it is
cold or by standing in a stretch position when it is hot.
f) Locating more favorable environment such as sunshine, shade, dry or wet
areas, shelter from winds, etc.

Process of heat dissipation

1) Conduction – involves direct contact of the animal with a part of its environment.
Thermal energy is transferred from one molecule to a neighboring molecule. The
amount of heat transferred and its direction depends on the following:

a) Contacting surface area of the animal;

b) The difference in temperature between the animal body and its environment;
and
c) Conductiveness of the contacting surfaces.

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2) Convection – heat is transferred to or from the animal by the movement of heated
air “particles”; it is the process by which actual mass motion of heated gas (or
liquid) transfers heat from one place to another. The rate of heat dissipation from
the body by convection is:

(a) proportional to the surface area of the body;

(b) affected by the velocity of the air moving along the animals surface; and
(c) affected by the temperature of the animal’s surface and of the ambient air.

Thus, posture of the animal and other conditions affecting surface area
affect the convection transfer of heat.

3) Radiation – involves the transfer of heat by means of electromagnetic waves

raveling at the speed of 186,000 miles per second; there is no material medium or
physical contact between the animal and the segment of its environment with
which the animal is reacting in the transmission of heat. The transfer of heat by
radiation depends on:

(a) The effective surface area – example posture

(b) The absolute temperature of the animal’s surface and of the surrounding
surfaces
(c) Surface quality known as “emissivity”. Example, color, texture and sheen of
the skin and hair coat. White surface may absorbed only 20% of the visible
solar radiation falling on it, whereas, a black surface may absorbed as much as
95 to 100% of the same radiation.

4) Vaporization – though not strictly a homeothermic reaction, this is the most

important process by which the animal loses heat to maintain a constant body
temperature. The extent of heat loss from the skin and respiratory surfaces
depends on the following:

(a) ventilation rate or respiration rate; and

(b) humidity of inspired-expired air.
The normal rectal temperature range of the different diseases of animals
is as follows:

Primates )
Asses )
Horses )
Mice )
Rats ) 36-39oC or 96-101oF
Elephants )
Ruminants )
Dogs )

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 Cats )
Pigs ) 38-40oC or 100-103oF
Rabbits )

Chicken )
Turkey )
Goose ) 50-41oC or 103-106oF
Duck )

Quail )
Pheasant ) 41-43oC or 106-109oF
Sparrow )

The effect of environmental temperature on body heat loss:

If the ambient temperature is the same as the body temperature, the body
cannot lose heat by radiation, convection or conduction; all of the heat has to be lost
by vaporization. The vaporization of one (1) liter of water dissipates about 583 kcal
of heat.
When the ambient temperature is higher than that of the body temperature,
the body absorbs heat by radiation, convection and conduction. The body, therefore,
must dissipate not only the heat it produces but also that which it absorbs at high
environmental temperature, the body can lose heat only by vaporization of water.

Diagram of effects of environmental temperature on heat production by

homeotherms.

DEATH DEATH

H.P. Heat Production

declines Body Temperature
comfort zone

Mostly chemical regulation COMFORT ZONE

(i.e., increasing oxidation of
tissues)
Body Body Temperature Hyper-
Temperature normal thermal
declines rise

Physical Body
Regulation temp.
increasing
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

D B C C’
Environmental Temperature

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1) As environmental temperature decreases, thermogenesis begins to increase at point
C (usually termed the “critical” temperature) in order to balance thermolysis.
2) At environmental temperature B, the body temperature begins to decline the
increasing rate of thermogenesis; at this point the thermoregulating devices can
no longer cope with the degrees of coldness of the environment.
3) At the ambient temperature D, (as the ambient temperature declines) heat
production by the animal is maximal (called “summit of metabolism); with a
further reduction in environmental temperature, both body temperature and heat
production decline as the homeothermic mechanisms fails, resulting in a fatal
termination.
4) Thermal neutrality, which is a point mid-way between C and C’ (the two“critical”
temperature) is the environmental temperature at which the heat loss is equal to
the minimal heat production. At this point, body temperature is normal without
much regulation.
5) The range of environmental temperature between C and C’ is known as the “zone
of thermal comfort” or the “zone of thermal neutrality”. In the range, any
regulation to maintain normal body temperature is slight but it is of the physical
variety.
6) The ambient temperature at which the various body temperature and heat-
production events occur vary with (1) species of animal, (2) age and size of
animal, (3) posture, (4) nature of body covering or other qualities affecting
insulation, (5) previous nutritional status, (6) wind movement and humidity, (7)
degree of activity, and (8) other experimental situations such as degree of
acclimatization.

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