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The rate of death from hypothermia is strongly related to age in the United States. Hypothermia usually occurs from exposure to low temperatures, and is frequently complicated by alcohol consumption. Any condition that decreases heat production, increases heat loss, or impairs thermoregulation, however, may contribute. [1]
Somatic death is the cessation of the tripod of life, meaning the failure of circulation, respiration, or cerebral activity. Cellular death continues long after somatic death, with the classic resulting condition of rigor mortis (stiffening of the muscles due to lack of oxygen and increase in lactic acids). Postmortem changes are also ...
One form of homeostasis is thermoregulation. Body temperature varies in every individual, but the average internal temperature is 37.0 °C (98.6 °F). [1] Sufficient stress from extreme external temperature may cause injury or death if it exceeds the ability of the body to thermoregulate.
As in other mammals, human thermoregulation is an important aspect of homeostasis. In thermoregulation, body heat is generated mostly in the deep organs, especially the liver, brain, and heart, and in contraction of skeletal muscles. [1] Humans have been able to adapt to a great diversity of climates, including hot humid and hot arid.
Hyperthermia, also known simply as overheating, is a condition in which an individual's body temperature is elevated beyond normal due to failed thermoregulation.The person's body produces or absorbs more heat than it dissipates.
Heat stroke occurs when thermoregulation is overwhelmed by a combination of excessive metabolic production of heat (exertion), excessive heat in the physical environment, and insufficient or impaired heat loss, resulting in an abnormally high body temperature.
A measured rectal temperature can give some indication of the time of death. Although the heat conduction which leads to body cooling follows an exponential decay curve, it can be approximated as a linear process: 2 °C during the first hour and 1 °C per hour until the body nears ambient temperature.
The trauma triad of death is a medical term describing the combination of hypothermia, acidosis, and coagulopathy. [1] This combination is commonly seen in patients who have sustained severe traumatic injuries and results in a significant rise in the mortality rate . [ 2 ]