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Warming Up

Vasoconstriction occurs when the arteriovenous shunts dilate. This causes less blood to flow through the capillaries near the surface of the skin.Sweating is decreased to reduce evaporative cooling. The erector pili muscles contract raising hairs or feathers. This traps a layer of insulating air next to the skin reducing heat lost to the environment.The body may begin to shiver. Rapid involuntary contractions of large (voluntary) muscles in the body generate heat by respiration.

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Specification: AQA Biology (7402), A-level, 3.6.4.3 Control of blood water potential. Topic: Homeostasis.

Key terms in this lesson

vector
A vehicle, such as a plasmid or virus, used to carry a gene of interest into a host cell during genetic engineering.
plasmid
A small, circular piece of DNA, separate from the main bacterial chromosome, often used as a vector in genetic engineering.

More in Homeostasis

All 33 lessons in Homeostasis · All AQA A-level Biology topics