The heat of the body or of the surrounding air, measured in degrees.
Illness when your body is hotter than normal.
In humans and other animals, measure of the heat associated with the metabolism of the body. Normal human temperature taken orally is considered to be 98.6° Fahrenheit (37° Celsius), but it may vary from person to person, and even in the same person depending on the time of day and level of activity.
The degree of heat in the body. A normal body temperature is about 98.6°F (37.0°C) but can range anywhere from 97.8° F (36.5°C) to 99.0° F (37.2°C).
Body temperature is the result of a balance of heat-generating forces, chiefly metabolism and muscular activity, and heat-loss, mainly from blood circulation through and evaporation from the skin and lungs. Disturbance of temperature, as in disease, may be caused by impairment of any of these bodily functions, or by malfunction of the controlling centre in the brain.
The degree of hotness or coldness of a substance.
The human body strives to uphold a temperature of approximately 37°C to ensure optimal functionality. This value can slightly differ not only among individuals but also within the same person due to various factors like physical activity, sleep, dietary intake, time of day, and, for women, the phase of the menstrual cycle.
The hypothalamus, situated in the brain, plays a crucial role in regulating body temperature. It oversees blood temperature and triggers automatic mechanisms to counteract any fluctuations.
When the body temperature decreases, the hypothalamus dispatches nerve impulses to induce shivering, a process that generates warmth through muscular activity. Additionally, nerve impulses are directed to narrow blood vessels in the skin, thereby reducing heat dissipation. Conversely, when body temperature rises, the hypothalamus triggers perspiration and widens blood vessels in the skin to augment heat release. Numerous factors, such as infections or extreme temperatures, have the potential to disturb the body’s heat-regulation mechanism, resulting in temperatures becoming excessively high or low.
The measure of heat intensity, typically determined using a thermometer.