Document Detail


Body build and temperature tolerance: an experimental analysis of ecological 'rules'.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  7405512     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
According to current anthropological theory, the two factors that primarily determine thermoregulation in human populations are body size and body proportions, and they have found their formulation in the ecological 'rules' of Bergmann and Allen. In order to test the validity of these idea, Buffalo and Fisher rats were submitted to various levels of heat and cold. The two strains were chosen because they demonstrate maximum differences in body size and body proportions in domesticated rats. The experiments lead to the conclusion that Allen's rule has only a limited applicability under conditions of heat and none in cold. However, Bergmann's rule is well substantiated by experimental data in heat and in cold. Nutrition is one of the most important factors influencing thermoregulation, but an extremely high degree of individual variation in temperature tolerance is found even under conditions of maximum homozygosity. The basic physiological processes of thermoregulation are sufficiently similar in human and nonhuman homeotherms to justify the extrapolation from one to the other.
Authors:
A Riesenfeld
Publication Detail:
Type:  Comparative Study; Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Acta anatomica     Volume:  107     ISSN:  0001-5180     ISO Abbreviation:  Acta Anat (Basel)     Publication Date:  1980  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1980-10-24     Completed Date:  1980-10-24     Revised Date:  2008-11-21    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0370272     Medline TA:  Acta Anat (Basel)     Country:  SWITZERLAND    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  35-45     Citation Subset:  IM    
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Animals
Biometry
Body Constitution*
Body Surface Area
Body Temperature Regulation*
Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena
Cold Temperature
Female
Hot Temperature
Male
Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
Rats
Rats, Inbred BUF
Rats, Inbred Strains / anatomy & histology*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  Invariance of the relative positions of structures attached to long bones during growth: cross-secti...
Next Document:  Electron-microscopic study of the synapses of the cerebral cortex in man.