The effect of local heating on blood flow in the finger and the forearm skin

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Abstract
Blood flow of the finger and the forearm were measured in five male subjects by venous occlusion plethysmography using mercury-in-Silastic strain gauges in either a cool–dry (COOL: 25 °C, 40% relative humidity), a hot–dry (WARM: 35 °C, 40% relative humidity), or a hot–wet (HOT: 35 °C, 80% relative humidity) environment. One hand or forearm was immersed in a water bath, the temperature (Tw) of which was raised every 10 min by steps of 2 °C until it reached 41° or 43 °C. While the other hand or forearm was kept immersed in a water bath (Tw, 35 °C), blood flow in the heated side (BFw) was compared with the corresponding blood flow in the control side (BFc). Under WARM or HOT conditions, linger BFw was significantly lower than finger BFc at a Tw of 39–41 °C in the majority of subjects. When Tw was raised to 43 °C, however, finger BFw became higher than BFc in nearly half of the subjects. In the COOL state, finger BFw did not decrease but increased steadily when Tw increased from 37° to 43 °C. In the forearm, BFw increased steadily with increasing Tw even in WARM–HOT environments. No such heat-induced vasoconstriction was observed in the forearm. From these results we conclude that in hyperthermic subjects, the rise in local temperature to above the core temperature produces vasoconstriction in the fingers, an area where no thermal sweating takes place.

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