Effect of Restraint on Body Temperature in Guinea Pigs

¹ From the Physiology Division, U. S. Army Chemical Warfare Laboratories, Army Chemical Center, Maryland

Guinea pigs were exposed to temperatures of 0°C and 20–22°C under the following conditions: some were left free in the temperature chamber, others were restrained by tying to a plastic board, and others were restrained and clipped of all hair. Colonic temperatures were taken before and during exposure. At room temperature, the animals did not appreciably drop in colonic temperature. At 0°C, the unrestrained guinea pigs showed an average drop in temperature of about 4°C during an exposure of 230 minutes; restrained animals dropped an average of 18°C in the same time; restrained and clipped animals dropped rapidly an average of 35°C in 150 minutes. It is suggested that restraint and clipping improve the avenues of heat loss and diminish the muscular production of heat. The importance of these results to interpretation of experimental data is stated.