How do these four cardiovascular, nervous, muscular and endocrine organ systems work together to regulate body temperature?

 

The hypothalamus, which is an integral part of thermoregulation, is a part of both the nervous system and endocrine system. When a stimuli of temperature change is detected by sensors in the central nervous system, this information is sent to the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus then sends signals to other body systems to either cool down or warm up the body.

The cardiovascular system responds by either constricting or dilating the blood vessels found beneath skin. Vasodilation helps the body cool down by allowing more blood to flow to the skin thus leading to loss of heat from the inner body. The opposite of which is vasoconstriction, used to produce more heat by decreasing the blood flow to the skin's surface.

The muscular system aids in thermoregulation through the shivering reflex. Shivering is the contraction of the skeletal muscles which produces heat thus causing the inner core temperature to rise. Goosebumps while shivering can be observed; this is the contraction of the arrector pili muscles found in the skin which also aids to generate heat.

Thyroid glands of the endocrine system enables thermoregulation by releasing hormones that increases the basal metabolic rate namely triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). Increasing the basal metabolic rate leads to an increase in body temperature.

The eccrine glands of the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the sweating mechanism. Sweating cools down the body through evaporation.