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Thermoregulation and the Skin

  • Chapter
Pharmacology of the Skin I

Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 87 / 1))

Abstract

Apart from its integumentary function, one of the principal functions of the skin is in thermoregulation. Central temperature depends upon the balance between heat production and heat loss, and, apart from a normally small contribution from the respiratory system, heat loss is entirely mediated by the skin. Two mechanisms contribute to this action: control of skin blood flow and thermal sweating. These mechanisms are to some extent interdependent: alteration of blood flow alone can influence heat loss, but sweating, and increased evaporative heat loss from skin, requires vasodilatation to provide water for evaporation and increased heat flow (and hence blood flow) to the skin surface.

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Authors
  1. W. I. Cranston
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Institute of Dermatology, St. Thomas’s Hospital, Lambeth Palace Road, SE1 7EH, London, Great Britain

    Malcolm W. Greaves M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.P.

  2. Department of Dermatology, The Royal Victoria Infirmary, The University of Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4LP, Newcastle upon Tyne, Great Britain

    Sam Shuster M.D., F.R.C.P.

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© 1989 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Cranston, W.I. (1989). Thermoregulation and the Skin. In: Greaves, M.W., Shuster, S. (eds) Pharmacology of the Skin I. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 87 / 1. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73797-8_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73797-8_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-73799-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-73797-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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