A thermometer used in a hospital or by a doctor for measuring a person’s body temperature.
Measurement of the temperature of warm-blooded organisms, especially humans. The oral temperature of the healthy human body ranges between 96.6° and 100°F (35.9° and 37.8°C). During a 24-hr period, a person’s body temperature may vary from 0.5° to 2.0°F (0.28° to 1. 1°C). It is highest in late afternoon and lowest during sleep in the early hours of the morning. It is slightly increased by eating, exercising, and external heat, and is reduced about 1.5°F (0.8°C) during sleep. In disease, the temperature of the body deviates several degrees above or below that considered the average in healthy persons.
A thermometer used to ascertain the body temperature; constructed so that the point to which the mercury rises remains stationary after removal of the thermometer from the patient. The body temperature can be taken in the mouth, under the arm, in the groin, or in the rectum. When taken under the arms or in the groins the skin should first be wiped free of perspiration. Before the thermometer is used the mercury must be shaken to the bottom of the column. For those who find this difficult to do, there is a special thermometer case fitted with handles so that the mercury can be shaken down by centrifugal spinning of the case. For children, the armpit or the groin is most often used, while the rectum is often used to take the temperature of babies. The rectal temperature is often a degree higher than that taken under the armpit.