How do mammals manage to maintain their body temperature within the same narrow range in environments as different as polar regions and hot deserts? This advanced text describes the morphological features and physiological mechanisms by which humans and other mammals maintain their body temperature within a narrow range despite large variations in climatic conditions and internal heat production. Its 19 chapters deal with the physics of heat exchange with the environment, and the autonomic and behavioural mechanisms available to control the loss and production of heat. The neuronal basis of temperature regulation and current concepts of the central nervous interface between temperature signals generated in the body and control mechanisms are examined in detail. This book is of invaluable help for undergraduates, postgraduates, teachers, physicians and scientists.

Excellent introduction into the physiology of temperature regulation in mammals.

1 Introduction.- 1.1 Poikilotherms and Homeotherms.- 1.2 The Capacity of the System.- 1.3 Homeothermy in Terms of Control Theory.- 1.4 A First Approach to the Controller.- 2 The Skin as a Source of Temperature Signals.- 3 The Inner Body as a Source of Temperature Signals.- 3.1 Identifying Single Feedback Loops.- 3.2 Hypothalamus.- 3.3 Spinal Cord.- 3.4 Other Thermosensitive Sites of the Body Core.- 4 The Neuronal Basis of Temperature Reception.- 4.1 Skin Thermoreceptors.- 4.2 Core Temperature Sensors Outside the Central Nervous System.- 4.3 Thermosensitive Neurons in the Central Nervous System.- 5 Heat Production and Heat Balance of the Body.- 5.1 The Heat Balance Equation.- 5.2 Body Mass, Heat Exchange and Metabolic Rate.- 5.3 Metabolic Heat Production vs. Metabolic Rate.- 5.4 Basal Heat Production vs. Resting Heat Production.- 5.5 Shivering.- 5.6 Non-Shivering Thermogenesis in Brown Adipose Tissue.- 5.7 Cold-Induced Non-Shivering Thermogenesis in Other Tissues.- 6 Physics of Heat Exchange with the Environment.- 6.1 Conduction.- 6.2 Convection.- 6.3 Radiation.- 6.4 Evaporation.- 7 External and Internal Insulation.- 7.1 External Insulation: Fur.- 7.2 Internal Insulation: Fat and the Principle of Core and Shell.- 7.3 Total Conductance.- 8 The Temperature Field of the Body Core.- 8.1 Passive Temperature Deviations.- 8.2 Regulated Temperature Deviations.- 9 Behavioural Control of Heat Exchange with the Environment.- 9.1 Locomotion.- 9.2 Orientation and Posture.- 9.3 Wallowing and Saliva Spreading.- 9.4 Social Behaviour.- 9.5 Operant Behaviour.- 10 Autonomic Control of Dry Heat Loss from the Skin.- 10.1 Pilomotion.- 10.2 Peripheral Blood Flow.- 11 Autonomic Control of Evaporative Heat Loss.- 11.1 Sweating.- 11.2 Panting.- 11.3 Sweating vs. Panting.- 12 Interaction of Various Body Temperatures in Control of Thermoregulatory Responses.- 12.1 Core Temperature as a Compound Input.- 12.2 Skin and Core Temperatures.- 12.3 The Regulated Variable.- 13 The Central Interface Between Afferent Temperature Signals and Efferent Drives.- 13.1 The Controller: Concepts and Facts.- 13.2. Neuronal Models.- 13.3 The Set-Point Problem.- 14 Short-Term Temperature Regulation in Various Environments: Inputs and Responses.- 14.1 The Medium Range.- 14.2 Short-Term Exposure to Cold.- 14.3 Short-Term Exposure to Heat.- 15 Exercise in the Heat: the Ultimate Challenge.- 15.1 Cardiovascular System.- 15.2 Body Fluid Balance.- 16 Changes of Set-Point.- 16.1 Ovarian Cycle and Circadian Rhythm, But Not Sleep.- 16.2 Fever.- 17 Adaptation to Cold.- 17.1 Smaller Animals.- 17.2 Larger Animals.- 17.3 Humans.- 18 Adaptation to Heat.- 18.1 Smaller Animals.- 18.2 Larger Animals.- 18.3 Humans.- 19 Pathophysiology of Temperature Regulation.- 19.1 Hyperthermia and Heat Stroke.- 19.2 Hypothermia.- References.