English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Mammals have a high metabolism that produces heat proportionally to the power3/4 of their mass at rest. Any excess of heat has to be dissipated in thesurrounding environment to prevent overheating. Most of that dissipation occursthrough the skin, but the efficiency of that mechanism decreases with theanimal's mass. The role of the other mechanisms for dissipating heat is thenraised, more particularly the one linked to the lung that forms a much largersurface area than the skin. The dissipation occurring in the lung is howeveroften neglected, even though there exists no real knowledge of its dynamics,hidden by the complexity of the organ's geometry and of the physics of theexchanges. Here we show, based on an original and analytical model of theexchanges in the lung, that all mammals, independently of their mass, dissipatethrough their lung the same proportion of the heat they produced, about 6-7 %.We found that the heat dissipation in mammals' lung is driven by a number,universal among mammals, that arises from the dynamics of the temperature ofthe bronchial mucosa. We propose a scenario to explain how evolution might havetuned the lung for heat exchanges. Furthermore, our analysis allows to definethe pulmonary heat and water diffusive capacities. We show in the human casethat these capacities follow closely the oxygen consumption. Our work lays thefoundations for more detailed analysis of the heat exchanges occurring in thelung. Future studies should focus on refining our understanding of theuniversal number identified. In an ecological framework, our analysis paves theway to a better understanding of the mammals' strategies for thermoregulationand of the effect of warming environments on mammals' metabolism.

Allometric scaling of heat and water exchanges in the mammals' lung