Skin and Thermoregulation

The skin plays a role in maintaining a constant body temperature. It has many
components to do this including hairs, sweat glands, erector muscles and
blood vessels. Receptors and sensory neurones are also present to detect
external temperatures.

Temperature

If the body temperature increases too much, the body has protective
mechanisms that reduce the temperature to stop enzymes from denaturing:

Blood vessels dilate – the blood vessels near the skin tend to dilate. This is
known as vasodilation. This means that more blood can pass close to the
skin, and so more heat can be lost through conduction to the environment
(rather than this hot blood running through deeper vessels away from the
surface!).
Sweating – sweat glands open, causing our skin to release more sweat
through pores in the epidermis. When there is more sweat, more heat is given
to the environment through evaporation. This is because the liquid sweat
absorbs heat, which increases the kinetic energy of molecules enough to
overcome the forces of attraction between them, enabling the liquid to
evaporate into a water vapour.

Skin hair lies flat – the hair erector muscles relax, causing the hair on the skin
to lie flat. Therefore, hair traps less air and heat near the body so the skin is
less insulated and heat can be lost more easily.

Responses to Decreases in Body Temperature

If the body temperature decreases too much, there are mechanisms in
place to increase body temperature:

Blood vessels constrict – the blood vessels near the skin constrict. This is
known as vasoconstriction. This means that less blood can pass near to
the skin so less heat is lost to the environment.

Shivering – during shivering, the skeletal muscles contract and relax very
quickly. This means that energy is released as heat from the muscles
as more respiration takes place to provide energy for the shivering.

Skin hairs stand up – the hair erector muscles contract, causing the hairs
on the skin to stand up on their end. This causes more air to be trapped
near the skin, leading to less heat loss as it provides insulation.

Sweat less – by sweating less when you are cold, you lose less heat.