body energy homeostasis

• what are the 4 main ways that heat can be transferred or lost to the environment?


  • conduction -> by direct contact, minimal with the body to the enviro, more pronounced when in water
  • convection -> transfer of heat by air circulation around the body, heats the air and air is lost, increases with wind velocity
  • radiation -> when heat is gained or lost by EM waves, commonly gained in hot environments
  • evaporation -> heat is lost when water is evaporated like sweating
• what is the poilkilothermic system

  : an organism (such as a frog) with a variable body temperature that tends to fluctuate with and is similar to or slightly higher than the temperature of its environment : a cold-blooded organism. poikilothermic.
• what are physiological changes associated with an increased temperature in the environment?


  • increased sweat production and a decreased concentration of Na
  • increased plasma volume and cardiac stroke volume
• what are TRP channels (transient receptor potential channels)? what do they do? which are associated with heat and which kind?


  TRP ion channels function as signal integrators through their ion conductance properties, and in some cases kinase activity.

  They mediate processes such as vision, taste, olfaction, hearing, touch, and thermo- and osmosensation.

  • TRPM 8 - cold receptor
  • TRPV 3+4 - warm receptor
  • TRPV 1+2 - warm-pain receptors
  • TRPA 1 - cold-pain receptors