OREANDA-NEWS. A group of doctors from the medical center at the University of Maryland was the first in the world to have an operation during which they successfully applied the technique of lowering human body temperature. It's reported by New Scientist, citing team leader Samuel Tisherman.

According to him, this technique is called Emergency Preservation and Resuscitation (EPR). This is a procedure in which a patient with an acute injury, such as a gunshot or knife wound, is cooled to 10-15 °C. Cooling is carried out by introducing a cooled saline solution into the blood. This allows doctors to get a few hours to perform the operation without the risk of death of the patient.

As Tischerman explained, at normal human body temperature, his cells need a constant supply of oxygen to generate energy. “When our heart stops beating, blood no longer carries oxygen to the cells. Without oxygen, our brain can function for about five minutes. However, lowering the temperature of the body and brain slows down or stops all chemical reactions in the cells, which, as a result, need less oxygen”, he explained.