Most
people know Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose — but why?
Medical researchers say they've now found the answer.
The
secret to Rudolph's
rosy schnozzle is the dense network of blood vessels in his nose. Reindeer,
it seems, have 25 percent more capillaries carrying red, oxygen-rich blood in
their nasal architecture than humans, say the scientists from the Erasmus
Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and the University of Rochester
in New York.
"In
colder climates and also when they are higher up in the atmosphere pulling
Santa's sleigh, the increase in blood flow in the nose will help keep the
[nose's] surface warm," Dr. John Cullen of the University of Rochester
told MedPage
Today. The dense network of blood vessels in reindeer noses is also
essential for regulating the animal's internal body temperature — like many
mammals, reindeer don't sweat.
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