What is does cold blooded mean?

Answer 1

Cold bloodedThe term cold blooded refers to the way in which the bodily temperature changes with the environment. There are three main areas of thermoregulation under the umbrella term cold bloodedness.

• Ectothermy - this refers to creatures that control their temperatures by external means, such as the sun, flowing air or water.
• Poikilothermy - this refers to the creatures who's body temperature rises and falls with the surrounding environment. These creatures would be cold in cold areas and hot in hot ones, changing as they move between them.
• Bradymetabolism - this refers to creatures who have a high active metabolism and a low resting metabolism. These creatures can undergo dramatic changes in their metabolic rate, depending on food availability and temperature. This allows creatures, such as those who live in the desert, able to shut down their body's and approach a near death sate, to survive harsh desert winters, until favourable conditions return.

Only a few creatures fall into all three categories, or use more than one method to control their body temperature. Most creatures rely on one type of thermoregulation to survive, such as snake and lizards lying on rocks, or insect vibrating their muscles in one place to keep warm.

It was originally thought that cold blooded creatures were incapable of controlling their bodily temperatures. It is now known that this is not the case and the term is therefore outdated in scientific content today.

The term warm blooded refers to the way in which creatures keep their body temperature at a constant level.

Unlike cold blooded animals, warm blooded animals tend to fit into all three categories, some only into two. This means that these warm blooded creatures uses many methods to regulate a steady body temperature.

Within the past thirty years scientists have found that some animals uses thermoregulation characteristics from both warm and cold blooded categories.

Bats and some small birds have been found to be both Poikilothermic and Bradymetabolic. For these and other creatures a new category was made, heterothermy (hetero meaning two and thermo meaning temperature).

Although the terms cold blooded and warm blooded are said to be outdated in terms of scientific accuracy, they are still widely used and understood as the regulation of temperature in organisms.

Answer 2

The new term is ectothermic is refers to an animals need to obtain heat from external sources as they do not have a metabolism efficient enough to produce heat internally or at least not enough to thrive an example of this is the snake

Answer 3

Cold blooded animals have a blood temperature that is similar to their surrounding's Reptiles for instance. That is, their system does not generate heat as is the case in warm blooded animals such as mammal's

Answer 4

Confusingly, it doesn't necessarily mean that your blood is cold. Typically, it refers to an organism that is unable to maintain its body temperature physiologically. We, for example shiver, change the flow of blood around our bodies, increase our metabolism etc. to warm up when we're cold. Similarly, when we're too hot we change the blood flow pattern again, sweat etc. to cool down. This allows us to keep our bodies within a critical temperature range of about 34-38 degrees C. Cold-blooded animals cannot do this. Consequently, their body temperatures often closely follow the temperature of the environment that they live in (although muscle activity can cause the temperature to be higher). Despite this, all life has limits in which it must remain in order to survive and cold-blooded species stay within these limits by means of behavioural thermoregulation. This means controlling their temperature through their actions. This can include finding shade when you get too hot (or sun when you're too cold), going for a swim, finding shelter from a cold wind etc.

The terms cold- and warm-blooded aren't used much these days because they're inaccurate. Many so called cold-bloods have body temperature warmer than us! Instead, terms like endothermic and ectothermic are used instead, according to whether their dependence on internally or externally sourced heat. Arguably, even these terms can misleading.

Answer 5

The expression in cold blood refers to homicide, or murder. Specifically, it speaks to intent or premeditation. It didn't just occur in the heat of an argument or by accident. It also hints to the emotional view that blood and having a heart has an emotional meaning. If you are "warm" blooded and "have a (nice) heart", you would never commit murder.

The man killed his father in cold blood.

The man was called a cold-blooded murderer.