PSB-2000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Osmoregulation, Vagus Nerve, Vasopressin
Document Summary
We have a constant body temperature because our cells adjust our metabolism. The idea that there is a set point that the body tries to maintain. Your body and brain try to achieve an opimal balance: the brain afects the body through simultaneous processes. Mammals are homeothermic-we use metabolic control to maintain body temp. Maintaining body temp requires about 2/3 of your total energy. You can build proteins that are sensiive to temperature, our proteins will become denatured if it becomes too hot or cold. The hypothalamus controls the bodys temperature regulaion: this area is called the poa/ ah, heaing this area results in paning/ sweaing, cooling this area results in shivering/goose bumps. Thermoreceptors measure how warm skin is, feedback from skin, signals to hypothalamus makes you sweat and body temp goes down. A change in temp acivates skin receptors and raises blood temperature. Both of these result in acivaion of the hypothalamic thermostat.
