454 ACTION OF COLD ON THE BODY. 



temperature post mortem are more active during the first than the second hour; 

 and the higher the temperature at the moment of death, the greater is the amount 

 of heat evolved post mortem (Quincke and Brieger). 



(3. ) Another cause is the diminished excretion of heat jwst mortem. After the 

 circulation is abolished, within a few minutes little heat is given off from the 

 surface of the body, as rapid excretion implies that the cutaneous vessels must be 

 continually filled with warm blood. 



224. Action of Cold on the Body. 



A short temporary slight cooling of the skin (removing one's clothes 

 in a cool room, a cool bath for a short time, or a cool douche) causes 

 either no change or a slight rise in the bodily temperature (Lieber- 

 meister). The slight rise, when it occurs, is due to the stimulation of 

 the skin, causing reflexly a more rapid molecular transformation, and 

 therefore a greater production of heat (Liebermeister), while the 

 amount of heat given off is diminished owing to 'contraction of the 

 small cutaneous vessels and the skin (Jiirgensen, Senator, Speck). The 

 continuous and intense application of cold causes a decrease of the 

 temperature (Currie), chiefly by conduction, notwithstanding that at 

 the same time there is a greater production of heat. After a cold bath, 

 the temperature may be 34, 32, and even 30C. 



As an after-effect of the great abstraction of heat, the temperature of 

 the body after a time remains lower than it was before ^primary after- 

 effect" Liebermeister); thus after an hour it was 0'22C. in the 

 rectum. There is a "secondary after-effect" which occurs after the first 

 after-effect is over, when the temperature rises (Jiirgensen). This 

 effect begins 5-8 hours after a cold bath, and is equal to + 0'2C. in 

 the rectum. Hoppe-Seyler found that some time after the application 

 of heat, there was a corresponding lowering of the temperature. 



Taking Cold. If a rabbit be taken from a surrounding temperature of 35 U C., 

 and suddenly cooled, it shivers, and there may be temporary diarrhoea. After 

 two days, the temperature rises 1'5C., and albuminuria occurs. There are 

 microscopic traces of interstitial inflammation in the kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, 

 and nerve-sheaths, the dilated arteries of the liver and lung contain thrombi, and 

 in the neighbourhood of the veins are accumulations of leucocytes. In pregnant 

 animals, the ketus shows the same conditions (Lassar). Perhaps the greatly cooled 

 blood acts as an irritant causing inflammation (Rosentlial). 



Action of Frost. The continued application of a high degree of cold causes at 

 first contraction of the blood-vessels of the skin and its muscles, so that it becomes 

 pale. If continued paralysis of the cutaneous vessels occurs, the skin becomes red, 

 owing to congestion of its vessels. As the passage of fluids through the capillaries 

 is rendered more difficult by the cold, the blood stagnates, and the skin assumes a 

 livid appearance, as the is almost completely used up. Thus the peripheral 

 circulation is slowed. If the action of the cold be still more intense, the peripheral 

 circulation stops completely, especially in the thinnest and most exposed organs 



