The Journal of physiology
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The Journal of physiology · Jan 1971
Metabolic, respiratory and vasomotor responses to heating the scrotum of the ram.
1. Oxygen consumption, respiratory frequency, and temperatures of the rectum, common carotid artery, external auditory meatus, and skin on the ears, near the distal end of the metacarpus and metatarsus, upper thigh and mid-side of the body, were measured in five rams before, during and after heating the scrotum. Effects on the woolly animal exposed to ambient temperatures of 17-19 degrees C, and on the shorn animal exposed to ambient temperatures of 5.6-24.5 degrees C, were determined.2. ⋯ The inhibition of panting in the shorn sheep at environmental temperatures below 20 degrees C remains unexplained.7. Body heating alone, by covering the shorn animal with a sheep skin coat in an environment of 19 degrees C, elicited well organized vasomotor changes in the ears and lower legs.8. As a result of the present study and previous work by others, it is clear that all thermoregulatory mechanisms, with the exception of vasomotor changes, may be influenced in a predictable manner by temperature changes of the scrotum.