ABSTRACT
The unique features of human adaptability lie in behaviour, which of course is also at the root of technology. But it also appears that human beings are outstandingly adaptable in other physiological systems. Although ‘individual adaptability’ is a species characteristic, that is, all individuals possess the capacity, the degree and effectiveness of that capacity may vary from person to person. Adaptability is demonstrated in most if not all physiological systems: cardio-vascular, respiratory, haemopoeitic, endocrine, muscular along with neural. It also occurs at the cellular and tissue levels as well as at the system level. The model of individual adaptability has been most precisely developed in relation to climatic adaptability, and the physiological mechanisms in this adaptability have been most thoroughly worked out. Growth and physique appear to be little affected by the immediate thermal environment of human individuals, but this is not the case for other mammals, for example, rats and mice.
