Optimizing heat dissipation for every environment: the cool ability of the skin to locally regulate sweating

meostasis requires rapid and complex integration of local and systemic (reflex) thermal variables to optimize the distribution of heat dissipation which, in humans, is primarily via sweating and cutaneous vasodilation. During environmental heat expo-sure and/or exercise, appropriate physiological heat dissipation prevents life-threatening hyperthermia. However, the need to dissipate heat must be balanced by requirements for blood flow in other areas (for example, muscle blood flow during exercise) and by the overall need to maintain arterial blood pressure. Similarly, the integrated thermoregulatory response must be appropriate to all aspects of the thermal environment. For example, if a person is running outdoors on a cold day, core temperature might increase substantially, but exposed areas of skin might have very low temperatures. If skin temperature is low, the thermal gradient between the core and skin is increased, an