Skin as the largest organ of the human body accomplishes many important functions, including thermoregulation. In this context, investigating cold (CDT) and warmth detection thresholds (WDT) constitutes an important research branch, and investigating thermal thresholds has a significant impact on the clothing and fabric textile industry. In this regard, not only the extremities, but also torso regions are of high relevance. However, only few examinations have conducted detailed mapping studies of the human torso. Additionally, some of these studies show certain methodological limitations. Furthermore, the issue of whether cutaneous thermal sensitivity is gender-dependent is still controversial. Therefore, the present study investigated the cutaneous thermal sensitivity (CDT, WDT) of 42 male and female young and healthy subjects. Measurements were taken at 11 anatomical regions. We found that gender plays an important role when investigating thermal thresholds: Females tended to be more sensitive than males. We also found considerable differences between the tested regions, even within the anterior torso, for example. We identified locations which were constantly sensitive (lower back), while others were consistently insensitive (e.g. scapula). We also detected greater data variability for males compared to females, and for WDT compared to CDT. Furthermore, mainly for WDT, we found a proximal-to-distal increase of thermal torso and upper arm sensitivity. In line with previous investigations, our subjects were more sensitive to cold than to warmth. The findings of this study have important implications. First, our data may complement basic research, e.g. in terms of reference data of body regional maps. Second, our data provides important insights that could be leveraged in the textile industry, and also used to optimize current broadly applicable test methods and tools, like thermal manikins and thermophysiological models.

中文翻译：

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热敏度映射 - 人体躯干的冷暖检测阈值

皮肤作为人体最大的器官完成许多重要功能，包括体温调节。在这种背景下，研究寒冷（CDT）和温暖检测阈值（WDT）构成了一个重要的研究分支，研究热阈值对服装和织物纺织行业具有重大影响。在这方面，不仅四肢，而且躯干区域都具有高度相关性。然而，只有少数检查对人体躯干进行了详细的绘图研究。此外，其中一些研究显示出某些方法学上的局限性。此外，皮肤热敏感性是否与性别有关的问题仍然存在争议。因此，本研究调查了 42 名男性和女性年轻和健康受试者的皮肤热敏感性（CDT、WDT）。在 11 个解剖区域进行测量。我们发现性别在调查热阈值时起着重要作用：女性往往比男性更敏感。我们还发现测试区域之间存在相当大的差异，例如，即使在前躯干内。我们确定了始终敏感的位置（下背部），而其他位置始终不敏感（例如肩胛骨）。我们还检测到男性与女性相比，以及 WDT 与 CDT 相比更大的数据变异性。此外，主要对于 WDT，我们发现热躯干和上臂敏感性从近端到远端增加。与之前的调查一致，我们的受试者对寒冷比对温暖更敏感。这项研究的结果具有重要意义。首先，我们的数据可以补充基础研究，例如 在人体区域图的参考数据方面。其次，我们的数据提供了可用于纺织行业的重要见解，还可用于优化当前广泛适用的测试方法和工具，如热人体模型和热生理模型。