Adaptation of the body to hot and cold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Adaptation of the body to hot and cold - Essay Example Since ancient times, human beings have been surviving in hot and humid weather of Sahara and extreme cold weather of Antarctica. Much of the earth’s hot and cold places are inhabited by human beings. The important fact is that the body of the person is permitted to live in any harsh weather conditions. However, the body needs a supply of water, shade and limited physical activity in order for the human being to survive. According to Wenger (2009), â€Å"Problems due to heat stress may occur whenever the rate of heat production or heat gain from the environment is sufficiently large in relation to the body’s ability to dissipate heat.† In a human body, problems such as numbness and snow bite can occur in extreme cold weather. However, sudden adaptation to an extreme weather is not likely for the physiology of a human being. There is an extent to which people can survive in a harsh climatic condition. The adaptation to hot or cold weather for the human body is poss ible only through the conditioned genetic make of the body. Unfortunately, it is a fact that with the continuous exposure to hot or cold weather, the tissues of the human body get injured. The body has different mechanisms by which it can adapt to cold and hot weather conditions. However, if a person is exposed to extreme hot or cold directly, then he can famish in a short period of time. Body’s adaptability to heat The human body is designed to sustain at an average temperature level and the body also maintains an average temperature level of 37 degree centigrade. However, when we attempt to sustain in a temperature above that, then the body brings out its adaptation mechanisms. When our body gets hot, it starts a biological process called sweating in order to cool off the body. But when the heat of the environment gets hotter than that, the tissue of the body is injured. The heat can affect the protein’s biological processing and this can lead to complication in the health of the human being exposed to extreme heat. The change in the protein configuration of the cell is called â€Å"denaturation.† High temperature can alter the nature of protein or kill the cells. If a living cell is exposed to heat above 45 degrees, then burning of the skin occurs. The damage of the skin depends on the duration and intensity of the heat applied to the human body. We, human beings, like any other mammal, are â€Å"homeotherms†; in other words, warm blooded animals. The human body has the ability to maintain its temperature by different biological processing. The human body does not react negatively to any minor changes in temperature, whether it is hot or cold. The main method by which the body defends against the heat in the environment is by perspiration. By perspiration the body injects fluid into the surface of the skin to make it moist and cool. As per Dugdale (2012), â€Å"Sweating is the release of a salty liquid from the body's sweat glan ds. This process is also called perspiration.† The phenomenon of sweating The phenomenon of sweating is the only way in which the body reacts to the extreme hot weather conditions. In this biological process, body injects salty liquid on to the surface of skin with the aid of sweat glands. There are millions of sweat glands in a human body and this process of sweating, in other words, is called â€Å"perspiration.† Sweating is an extremely important activity of the body to stay cool in harsh environmental conditions. Sweat is mainly obvious on the palms of the hand, under the arm or under the feet. The quantity a person sweats depends on the amount of sweat glands a person possesses. The sweat glands of an individual are functional as one attains their puberty period. Although, women possess more sweat glands, men