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active sleep
That part of the sleep cycle of birds and mammals during which there is a characteristic electroencephalograph (EEG) accompanied by rapid eye (or ear) movements (REM).The sleep cycle is made up of ...
coloration
The colour patterns on an animal's body surface. These are usually tailored to the animal's lifestyle, and have important functions in relation to advertisement, camouflage, mimicry, ...
control
The ability to determine the value of dependent variables. Complete controllability means that it is possible to move any state (of a system) to any other state during any finite interval of time by ...
dehydration
A loss or deficiency of water in the body or from tissues. Gingival dehydration can be the result of mouth breathing and render the gingival tissues susceptible to inflammation or infection.
dormancy
An inactive period in the life of an animal or plant during which growth slows or completely ceases. Physiological changes associated with dormancy help the organism survive adverse environmental ...
drinking
Taking in water by mouth to quench thirst. Many aquatic animals take water in through the mouth, but this may play no role in homeostasis. True drinking applies to terrestrial animals that take in ...
erector pili
Muscle in the dermis which raises hair, improving heat retention in the body by trapping a layer of air on the skin surface. See also thermoregulation.
hibernation
A strategy for surviving winter cold that is characteristic of some mammals. Metabolic rate is reduced to a minimum and the animal enters a deep sleep, surviving on food reserves stored in the body ...
homeostasis
n. the physiological process by which the internal systems of the body (e.g. blood pressure, body temperature, acid-base balance) are maintained at equilibrium, despite variations in the external ...
homoiothermic
adj. warm-blooded: able to maintain a constant body temperature independently of, and despite variations in, the temperature of the surroundings. Mammals (including humans) and birds are ...
hypothalamus
The region of the brain that controls the autonomic nervous system and links the nervous and endocrine systems of the body. See hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenal axis.
incubation
1 The process of maintaining the fertilized eggs of birds and of some reptiles and egg-laying mammals at the optimum temperature for the successful development of the embryos. A period of incubation ...
motivation
The cause for a spontaneous change in the behaviour of an animal that occurs independently of any outside stimulus, or of a change in the threshold of responsiveness of an animal to a stimulus, and ...
sleep
(sleep)a state of natural unconsciousness, during which the brain's activity is not apparent (apart from the continued maintenance of basic bodily functions, such as breathing) but can be detected by ...
sunbathing
The exposure of its body to sunshine by an animal as a means of thermoregulation (mainly in poikilotherms) or to stimulate the production of vitamin D in the skin. Many animals prefer to rest in warm ...
sweat gland
An exocrine gland lying with a secretory duct in the dermis of the skin. They serve a number of functions including the regulation of body temperature and excretion of waste products.
thermoreceptor
n. a sensory nerve ending that responds to heat or to cold. Such receptors are scattered widely in the skin and in the mucous membrane of the mouth and throat.
thermoregulation Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine (3 ed.)
Maintenance of a relatively constant body core temperature. Thermoregulation may involve behavioural and physiological processes (see thermotaxis). Skin thermoreceptors monitor ...
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thirst
The physiological and psychological state or condition caused by dehydration or lack of drink, characterized by an urge to drink and a feeling of dryness in the mouth and throat. See also angiotensin ...
