EFFECT OF AMBIENT TEMPERATURE ON FINGER SKIN BLOOD FLOW DURING COLD-INDUCED VASODILATION

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of ambient temperature on the cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) response of skin blood flow. For this purpose, the right middle fingers of fifteen subjects were immersed in 7℃ water for 30 min at ambient environmental temperatures of 20℃, 25℃, and 28℃. During their CIVD responses, the maximum value of blood flow at 20℃ increased more than 3-fold relative to the value before the response. At 28℃, skin temperature increased faster after exposure to cold water than it did at 20℃; however, the onset time of changes in blood flow did not differ significantly among the three temperature conditions. From these results, it is clear that in order to study the mechanism of CIVD, it is necessary to make simultaneous multimodal measurements.