Controlling Body Temperature

Contolling Body Temperature

• The body has to keep its internal temperature at around 37 degrees because this is the optimal temeperature of enzymes.
• The body has to balance the amount of energy gained (e.g. through respiration) and lost to keep the core temperature constant.
• There is a thermoregulatory centre in the brain, which contains receptors that are sensitive to the temperature of the blood flowing through the brain.
• The thermoregulatory centre aldo receives impulses from temperature receptors in the skin, giving information about skin temperature.
• If the heat is too high: thermoregulatory receptors detect that the core body temperature is too high, then the thermoregulatory centre acts as a co-ordination centre- it receives information from the temperature receptors and triggers the effectors automatically, then the effectors produce a response and counteract the change (e.g. by sweating).
• If the body temperature is too…