"As warm-blooded mammals, humans produce energy by metabolising
food, with most of this energy taking the form of heat. This
metabolic heat is produced by the body all the time, mainly as a
result of muscular activity, although almost all bodily
functions produce some heat. In general the more active we are,
the more heat we produce." Dr Andrew
Marsh
"There is no normal temperature but a range over which
temperature fluctuates and changes." Dr. Tim Lowenstein
Human Physiology
3 - The body's
thermoregulatory system
The human body
wanders through its environment constantly sensing everything
including light, humidity, temperature and pressures.
Our external
sensors are grouped this way:
Mechanoreception–pressure or touch (tactile
sensitivity)
Thermoreception-temperature (thermal
sensitivity)
Nociception-noxious (damaging or
potentially damaging) stimuli (noxious sensitivity)
Thermal sensation results from two sets of sensory organs within
the skin. They
allow us to
sense our thermal surroundings to determine if we are gaining or
losing heat.
Figure 1, Skin Sensor Types1
"The first of these, the Bulbs
of Krause(1), are sensitive to heat loss. They number around
150,000 and lie within 0.5mm of the surface of the skin. Whilst
spread throughout the body near the openings to sweat glands,
there is some increased concentration around the fingertips,
nose and bends of the elbow. The Organs of Ruffini(4),
however, are sensitive to heat gain and number only around
16,000. These lie much deeper within the skin, mostly around the
lips, nose, chin, chest, forehead and fingers. Due to the
increased insulation provided by skin depth, these are much
slower to react to changing environmental temperature than the
bulbs of Krause." Dr Andrew
Marsh, Square
One Research PTY LTD
Figure 2. Skin Sensor Types2. For deeper look at how the
body and brain makes judgments on indoor environmental
quality...click here.
The Body's
Release of Heat
Figure 3. Animation of vasodilatation (increase in blood
flow) and sweating (skin wettedness)3
The heat released within the body warms the blood
which circulates to all body tissues, keeping them at
the homeostatic temperature. The body temperature is a
result of the balance between heat production and heat
loss.. The hypothalamus is the body's thermostat.
Located in the brain, the hypothalamus continuously
regulates the body's temperature, using the nervous
system's pathways, to a constant setpoint of around
37.7C (98.6F).3
Increase Heat
Loss
The body must be protected from excessively high
temperatures. Heat loss from the skin surface occurs
mostly from radiation or evaporation (Figure 3). As the body's
temperature increases above what is desirable, the warm
blood comes to the skin via dilated blood vessels and
the capillary beds in the skin become flushed with the
warm blood. The result is heat radiating from the skin
surface. 3
1. Copyright (c)
2005, GIUNTI PUBLISHING GROUP, Via Dante, 4, 20121, MILANO ,
All Rights Reserved, Republished by www.healthyheating.com
with restricted permission from GIUNTI PUBLISHING GROUP,
Atlas of Anatomy
2. Copyright (c)
2005, The Sourcebook of Medical Illustration, P. Cull, ed., The
Parthenon Publishing Group, 1989, used for educational purposes
under the terms listed by the University of Minnesota.
3. Copyright (c)
2005, Arizona State University, All Rights Reserved, Republished
by www.healthyheating.com with restricted permission from ASU.
....it will envelop the senses, stretch the body, tickle the
imagination and provide a place in the sun for relaxation and
respite.
Hear the sounds of a waterfall and enjoy the fragrances of
earth, flowers and bushes. Touch the flowers set out in raised
planters...
Wind your way up a little
hill and through a maze, feeling the path below, touching the
walls, learning to trust your sense of direction. Step into the
shade. Feel the breeze in the tall grasses. Sit down for a snack
and raise your face to the sun.
...selecting plants, grasses, and bushes based on their sensory
qualities...children will be attracted to the
rustling of leaves and pods, the scent of jasmine, herbs and
berries, and the textures of ornamental grasses, lamb’s ears,
burning bush and oriental arborvitae.
RB's comments:
..another WOW moment in my life came after reading this
stuff...its beautiful and it's summed up by art
teacher Carol Kreiser
theme of...
“Inside Your Head.”
Students decorated the
outsides of the boxes
to represent themselves.
A WOW idea...
The North American HVAC Industry needs to hire people who
are visually challenged to create spaces not just for the blind
but those of us who take for granted our abilities
...just because we can see doesn't mean we should forget
how to feel, hear and smell.
