Which mechanism maintains minimum brain temperature during mammalian hibernation despite reduced metabolism?

💡 Explanation

During hibernation, the countercurrent heat exchange in the carotid rete cools arterial blood entering the brain while warming venous blood leaving, maintaining minimum neural function despite low metabolic rates. Therefore, countercurrent exchange explains the stabilization temperature rather than hormonal increase, shivering or adipose activity whose contribution is minor in this system.

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