Frostbite

With the cold months here people need to be made aware of injuries that may occur during these months. Exposure to a temperature below freezing usually leads to severe soft tissue damage (Figure 1). How does the body protect itself from cold? Thermoregulation The body has the ability to maintain a core body temperature by the process of thermoregulation. During extreme cold, the body receives a signal from sensory receptors. For example, there receptors are present in the hands or the feet (Figure 2). These sensory receptors will respond to the cold and send a signal up to the brain. The posterior hypothalamus is responsible for regulating body temperature during exposure to cold. The anterior hypothalamus responds to heat. Once the signal reaches the brain, the brain then sends a signal to the body in order to respond to cold temperatures and to maintain a core body temperature. This is necessary in order to provide the vital organs with the necessary heat to function properly. The brain will send a signal to the smooth muscle cells of the blood vessels of the skin and the skeletal muscles. The smooth muscle cells lines the arteries and arterioles. During cold temperatures, the signal from the brain causes vasoconstriction of the arterioles in the skin which allows the body to shift the blood to more vital areas of the body (Figure 3). When the temperature is at or below 0°C (degrees Celsius), which is about 32°F, the blood vessels close to the skin start to constri...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news