AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 242, Issue 3 275-R279, Copyright © 1982 by American Physiological Society
Open-loop gain of evaporative heat loss during radiant heat exposure in the mouse
C. J. Gordon
Whole-body evaporative water loss of the mouse during radiant heating was
determined at ambient temperatures of 20-35 degrees C. The ratio of
evaporated to absorbed heat per gram body weight, which is equal to
open-loop gain (OLGEHL), increased over sixfold with each 1 degrees C
increase in ambient temperature. At 35 degrees C, OLGEHL was equal to 0.8,
which implies that the mouse evaporates 80% of the absorbed radiant heat.
At 20 degrees C, less than 1% of the absorbed heat is evaporated and the
remainder of the heat load is dissipated passively. A previous estimate of
OLG for the mouse is similar to the data from this study at an ambient
temperature of 35 degrees C. Determining OLG with natural ambient
stimulation may make future studies in thermoregulation comparable.
