A term for the temperature of an individual’s internal organs in the chest cavity, abdominal region, and head. | core body temperature |
The medical condition resulting from an unusually low core body temperature that can be caused by prolonged exposure to a cold environment. This can be life threatening. | hypothermia |
The medical condition resulting from an unusually high core body temperature that can be caused by fever or prolonged exposure to a hot environment. This can be life threatening. | hyperthermia |
The general rule that within the same species of warm-blooded animals, individuals from populations living in colder environments usually have shorter appendages than do those from populations in warmer areas. | Allen’s Rule |
The general rule that within the same species of warm-blooded animals, individuals from populations living in colder environments usually have greater body mass than do those from populations in warmer areas. | Bergmann’s Rule |
The measure of the total energy utilized by the body to maintain necessary body processes. It is also the minimum level of heat produced by the body at rest. | basal metabolic rate |
The people who are native to the harsh arctic and subarctic regions of North America and Greenland. | Inuit or Eskimo |
A constriction or narrowing of blood vessels resulting in a decrease in the flow. This is the opposite of vasodilation. | vasoconstriction |
The freezing or partial freezing of part of the body, especially soft tissue. This condition may result in gangrene and the loss of appendages, such as fingers and toes. | frostbite |
The term for cooling of the skin resulting from the evaporation of sweat on its surface. In hot dry environments, this is normally the most significant mechanism by which the human body loses excess heat. | evaporative cooling |
The process of losing heat by giving off infrared rays from the surface of our bodies. Other processes responsible for human heat loss are convection, conduction, and evaporative cooling. | radiation |
What the air temperature actually feels like to people. This varies with the relative humidity of the air. The higher the relative humidity is on hot days the higher the temperature feels even if the air temperature does not change because evaporation of sweat is progressively less efficient in cooling the body. | apparent temperature |
Oxygen deprivation. This medical condition usually occurs at high altitudes. Symptoms include a reduced ability to do work, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, and an inability to effectively perform memory intensive tasks. | hypoxia |
Abnormal accumulation of fluid in the lungs resulting from severe oxygen deprivation at high altitudes. This can cause pneumonia-like symptoms and death. | pulmonary edema |
An organic pigment produced in the skin. High concentrations of this pigment near the surface of the skin result in a darker complexion. Suntanned skin also has higher concentrations of it. | melanin |
Cells that produce melanin in the skin of humans. | melanocytes |
The general rule that says within the same species of warm-blooded animals, there is a tendency for more heavily pigmented skin to occur in animals near the equator and lighter pigmented skin farther from it. | Gloger’s Rule |
A sugar normally present in milk. | lactose |
An enzyme produced by mammals to break down lactose in milk that they consume. This enzyme is needed for the digestion of uncooked dairy products. A deficiency of it results in diarrhea and other symptoms of physical intolerance of most dairy products. | lactase |
A cancer of the skin. Specifically, it is a disease of melanocytes. | melanoma |