Body thermal state influence on local skin thermosensitivity.

• Main Author: Divert, V E
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Atypon 2001
• Subjects: Circumpolar Health
• Online Access: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11507987

Three series of experiments (I-III) on 33 volunteers aged 20-23 years old were carried out using the climatic chamber. The thermal thresholds were measured on the forearm of men dressed only in swimming trunks. The Peltier thermode was used. Inspection I was carried out in a thermoneutral environment (27 degrees C) with 1 degree C step modification of the initial thermode temperature ("i) within 29-38 degrees C temperature span. In an alternative experiments (II) the "i was supported at 33 degrees C, while the men were exposed to 20, 27 and 38 degrees C. In the last series (III) "i was maintained close to natural cutaneous temperature and the environmental temperatures were 27, 20 and 14 degrees C. It is shown that selected changes of local cutaneous temperature (I series) or the medium temperature (II series) render the a sharply expressed and opposite influence on local thermal thresholds. Common body cooling (III series) also reduces local thermal sensitivity. The equations and three-dimensional graphs linking thresholds of local thermal sensitivity, local skin temperature and average weighted full coverlet temperature (or deep body, or environmental temperature) on obtained data were computed. They allow taking into account the influence of body thermal state in practice of a quantitative cutaneous thermal sensitivity definition.