Figure 5.

Effects of skin with fine hair on lower eyelid dermal microcirculation in a newborn piglet under four conditions: moist, dry, and before and after ingesting colostrum. (A) moist newborn piglet. While moist, this piglet has an average upper eyelid temperature (Li1) of 34.8 °C (with maximum and minimum temperatures of 36.1 and 31.7 °C), possibly due to heat preserved from the covering of amniotic fluid that allows it to maintain a stable temperature. (B) dry newborn piglet. The absence of hair, low thermoregulating capacity, contact with cold surfaces, and moisture cooling from the amniotic fluid contributed to heat loss through evaporation. A decrease of approximately 1.7 °C, with maximum and minimum temperatures of 34.4 °C and 32.8 °C, was observed in this animal. (C) dry piglet before consuming colostrum. Although the piglet is dry, an average decrease in the maximum and minimum temperatures of 2.1 °C is seen. In this case, the absence of hair, the limited thermogenesis capacity of newborns, and direct contact of the skin with cold objects contributed to heat loss through convection. (D) dry piglet after colostrum ingestion. An increase of approximately 3.8 °C was recorded, a temperature similar to the maximum one recorded in thermogram (A). This suggests a thermogenic response attributable to colostrum ingestion that aids in homeostasis and thermoregulation in piglets.