Local and regional variations in cutaneous vasomotor tone of the human trunk.

Abstract

1. These studies have been concerned with regional or segmental variations in vasomotor activity in “normal” individuals. 2. The methods used included the segment-to-segment measurement of the temperature, red responses, and light absorption of the paravertebral skin. 3. The observations show that the cutaneous vasomotor activity on the trunk is not uniform, as appears to be commonly assumed. Topographical patterns of temperature, red responses and light absorption of the skin were found. 4. Local or segmental deviations from these average or “normal” topographical patterns were found in most individuals. 5. Local deviations in all three types of observations were usually found at the same segmental levels in a given individual. 6. The topographical patterns of vascular activity appear to be functional rather than anatomic and are analogous to similar patterns in sudomotor activity. 7. The topographical patterns of cutaneous vasomotor manifestations appear, therefore, to reflect normal regional variations in sympathetic activity. 8. The local deviations of vasomotor activity from the “normal” patterns appear to be related to local deviations in sympathetic activity.