In: Anatomy and Physiology
What happens to your body if you are in a cold room and your core body temperature starts dropping below normal? [ 5 marks ]
Hypothermia is a serious condition in which our body temperature falls below normal due to serious conditions. It can be fatal if not handled immediately. Children and adults are at greater risk.
If the environment gets too cold due to the cold room and the body is unable to produce enough heat, the core body temperature drops.
The metabolic reaction going inside our body generate heat to keep our body warm. When the environment becomes colder, our body starts shivering due to muscle activity for production of heat. However if the body loses more heat than it can generate through skin, hypothermia develops. Hypothalamus recognises the body temperature and initiates body responses accordingly.
As the temperature falls, the body shunts blood away from the skin to reduce the amount of heat that escapes.
Heart and brain is most sensitive to cold temperatures. The electrical activity slows down in the body systems and organs begin to fail. leading to death.