Question map
Sweating during exercise indicates operation of which one of the following processes in the human body ?
Explanation
Sweating during exercise is a primary mechanism of thermoregulation, which is a critical component of homeostasis. Homeostasis refers to the body's ability to maintain a stable internal environment despite external changes [t1, t10]. During physical activity, muscle contractions generate heat, causing body temperature to rise [t4]. To counteract this, the hypothalamus triggers sweat glands to produce moisture; the subsequent evaporation of this sweat from the skin surface facilitates heat loss, thereby cooling the body and returning it to its thermal set point [t2, t10]. While sweating involves the loss of water and electrolytes, which relates to osmoregulation, the process of sweating itself is fundamentally an effector response of the homeostatic thermoregulatory system to prevent hyperthermia [t1, t8]. Phagocytosis and enthalpy are unrelated to the physiological cooling process described.
Sources
- [1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6773238/