  We investigate the role played by the Polyakov loop in the dynamics of the
chiral phase transition in the framework of the so-called PNJL model in the
SU(2)sector. We present the phase diagram where the inclusion of the Polyakov
loop moves the critical points to higher temperatures, compared with the NJL
model results. The critical properties of physical observables, such as the
baryon number susceptibility and the specific heat, are analyzed in the
vicinity of the critical end point, with special focus on their critical
exponents. The results with the PNJL model are closer to lattice results and we
also recover the universal behavior of the critical exponents of both the
baryon susceptibility and the specific heat.
