EFFECT OF AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE AND OF HAND TEMPERATURE ON BLOOD FLOW IN HANDS

Abstract

Measurements of blood flow in hands were made on young [male] [male] (18-35 yrs. of age) sitting in uncomfortably warm, comfortable, and uncomfortably cold environments with hands immersed in water at temps. ranging from 2 to 35[degree]C. Under comfortable environmental conditions, blood flow was less in moderately cold hands (0.9 ml./100 ml. hand volume/min. for hands in water at 15[degree]C.) than in very cold hands (4.3 ml./l00 ml./min. for hands in water at 5[degree]C.) or in warm hands (5.9 ml./l00 ml./min. for hands in water at 35 [degree]C.). A qualitatively similar relationship existed in uncomfortably warm and uncomfortably cold environments. In the uncomfortably warm environment, however, blood flow in moderately cold hands (water temp., 15[degree]C.) was about the same as in very cold hands (water temp., 2 C). At any given hand temp., blood flow was greater the warmer the body. This effect was most pronounced in moderately cold hands (ca. 15[degree]C.) where blood flow in the case of the uncomfortably warm environment was about 20 times that in the uncomfortably cold environment, and least pronounced in very cold hands (ca. 10[degree]C.) where the difference was only about 3-fold.