Cardiovascular and sweating responses to water ingestion during dehydration.

Abstract

The experiments reported are concerned with cardiovascular and sudomotor events preceding, accompanying, and following ingestion of water by five dehydrating subjects 8.75 hr after entrance into a heat chamber (43.3 C DB, 29 C WB). Certain skin areas such as the cheek showed increases in evaporative heat loss before subjects came in contact with water. This reflex could be initiated by saline ingestion but the degree of skin and oral temperature changes appeared to depend on tonicity of fluid ingested. The gustatory reflex was not thought to be the initiating agent for sudomotor responses. Increases in cutaneous blood flow appeared to begin almost as promptly as sweating responses but took considerably longer to develop. Ingestion of saline, though initiating a sweating response, did not alter heart rate, blood pressure, or cutaneous blood flow. It is suggested that fluid ingestion, regardless of tonicity, triggers reflex sweating over the body surface. Intensity and duration of this sudomotor response, as well as initiation of cardiovascular changes, apparently depend on tonicity of ingested fluid. cutaneous blood flow; skin temperature; regional sweating Submitted on November 27, 1964