Current concepts of active vasodilation in human skin

In humans, an increase in internal core temperature elicits large increases in skin blood flow and sweating. The increase in skin blood flow serves to transfer heat via convection from the body core to the skin surface while sweating results in evaporative cooling of the skin. Cutaneous vasodilation and sudomotor activity are controlled by a sympathetic cholinergic active vasodilator system that is hypothesized to operate through a co-transmission mechanism. To date, mechanisms of cutaneous active vasodilation remain equivocal despite many years of research by several productive laboratory groups. The purpose of this review is to highlight recent advancements in the field of cutaneous active vasodilation framed in the context of some of the historical findings that laid the groundwork for our current understanding of cutaneous active vasodilation.