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A medical thermometer or clinical thermometer is a device used for measuring the body temperature of a human or other animal. The tip of the thermometer is inserted into the mouth under the tongue (oral or sub-lingual temperature), under the armpit (axillary temperature), into the rectum via the anus (rectal temperature), into the ear (tympanic temperature), or on the forehead (temporal ...
Temperature under the arm (axillary) is about 36.5 °C (97.7 °F) [20] [medical citation needed] Generally, oral, rectal, gut, and core body temperatures, although slightly different, are well-correlated. [citation needed] Oral temperatures are influenced by drinking, chewing, smoking, and breathing with the mouth open.
Temperature can be recorded in order to establish a baseline for the individual's normal body temperature for the site and measuring conditions. Temperature can be measured from the mouth, rectum, axilla (armpit), ear, or skin. Oral, rectal, and axillary temperature can be measured with either a glass or electronic thermometer. [11]
The precise history of rectal thermometry is largely unknown, but medical thermometers have long been made in a tube shape that fits into the anus. Medical literature shows the practice dating back to at least the 18th century, and it is probable that rectal thermometry was thought to be a safer alternative to oral temperature-taking, due to the use of mercury and other toxic chemicals in ...
The average difference between oral and axillary temperatures of Indian children aged 6–12 was found to be only 0.1 °C (standard deviation 0.2 °C), [51] and the mean difference in Maltese children aged 4–14 between oral and axillary temperature was 0.56 °C, while the mean difference between rectal and axillary temperature for children ...
Normal rectal temperature generally ranges from 36 to 38 °C (97 to 100 °F) and is about 0.5 °C (32.9 °F) above oral (mouth) temperature and about 1 °C (34 °F) above axilla (armpit) temperature. [ citation needed ] Availability of less invasive temperature-taking methods including tympanic (ear) and forehead thermometers has facilitated ...
A core body temperature (such as a rectal temperature) is the preferred method for monitoring body temperature in the diagnosis and management of heat stroke as it is more accurate than peripheral body temperatures (such as an oral or axillary temperatures).
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.