Abstract
The hand blood flow (\(\dot Q\)) was investigated in response to a wide range of general and local cutaneous thermal stimuli (0–36°C and 4–42°C respectively), the local stimulus consisting of a thermostatically controlled water bath for the right hand (Tw), and the general stimulus, the ambient room temperature (Ta).\(\dot Q\) was measured at the right wrist by strain gauge plethysmography; it was seen to respond more significantly to variations in Tw than to those in Ta at cold to comfortable ambient temperatures (Ta<22°C). A paradoxical vasodilatation was observed at Tw=4°C (Lewis' “hunting” phenomenon). The graphs of\(\dot Q\) versus T at average to high local cutaneous temperatures (Tw > 33°C) are remarkably similar, except for an upward shift at successively higher values of Tw. The slope (or vasomotor reactivity) is interpreted as being controlled by variations in Ta. The curves exhibited maximum values at Ta = 31°C. Their subsequent decrease could represent a thermoregulatory adaptation to environment-organism heat transfer, the relative vasoconstriction tending to reduce the transfer. Although the qualitative\(\dot Q\) response was the same for both sexes, the absolute value of\(\dot Q\) was generally greater in male than in female subjects.
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Levy, B., Ghaem, A., Verpillat, J.M. et al. Effects of ambient and local cutaneous temperatures on hand blood flow. Int J Biometeorol 21, 341–347 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01555195
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01555195