Controlling Body Temperature

• What is the ideal body temperature?

  37 degrees celsius
• How does the body keep temperature constant?

  Balance energy gain and loss
• Which part of the brain is sensitive to the temperature of blood flowing through the brain?

  The thermoregulatory centre
• What does the thermoregulatory centre do apart from detecting blood temperature?

  It receives impulses from temperature receptors in the skin
• What is the word for when effectors produce different effects to create a precise balanced temperature?

  Working antagonistically
• What does the body do when you're too hot?

  • Sweat is produced and evaporates from the skin, transferring energy to the environment
  • Blood vessels supplying the skin dilate so more blood flows at the surface and transfers energy to the environment
• What is the term for blood vessels in the skin dilating?

  Vasodilation
• What does the body do when you are too cold?

  • Hairs stand up to trap an insulating layer of air
  • No sweat is produced
  • Blood vessels supplying the skin constrict to close off the supply
  • You shiver as muscles contract automatically which requires respiration meaning some energy is transferred to the body
• What is the term for blood vessels in the skin constricting?

  Vasoconstriction