Biophysical and Physiological Basis of Human Cold Acclimatization

Abstract

On exposure to cold, the problem is to maintain internal temperature of the human body in the presence of an increased thermal gradient between the core and the external environment. The ability to maintain homeothermy in the cold environment is enhanced in the acclimatized man. Superimposed upon the adaptive responses of the whole body to cold exposure are the adaptive responses of the extermities to avoid severe cold injury. The two major methods of adjustment to cold exposure are metabolic adjustments and peripheral cooling. Metabolic adjustment involve an increase in heat production in response to a cold stress such as shivering and non shivering thermogenesis and voluntary muscular activity. Peripheral cooling reduce the loss of heat from the skin by effectively increasing the thickness of relatively cooler peripheral tissues. The available literature on human cold acclimatization has been surveyed with a view to explain the biophysical and physiological mechanisms involved in the process of acclimatization.