The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1909-03-24
HEAT OF THE BODY,
Climatic Variations Do Not Affect
internal Conditions.
MANS NORMAL TEMPERATURE

1t Is 98.5 Degrees When Taken Under
the Tongue Whether One Lives In
the Arctic Regions or In the Tropics.
Some Record Fever Temperatures.
The normal temperature of human
being is generally given as $50 de
erees, bht the statement must be slight
~ qualified. II is the normal temper
allure when taken by placing the ther
mometcr under the tongue or in the
armpit or the groin.
The surface temperature of the head,
hands or abdomen varies from 9G de
grces TO % degrees or even lower That
Of the internal regions may 80 up to
l02.2 degrees, that being the average
heat of the blood circulating in the
liver and some other organs.
But 3S.G degrees is called the normal
temperature OF human being, and 1t
doesn't matter whether he lives in the
desert of Sahara or in Greenland, ae-
eording to a writer in the Technical
World. Awake or asleep, ut work or
lust loaiing, Il mans temperature re
mains practically ut this level.
When II varies more than the fraction
Of degree it is because the heat reg
ulatng mechanism is disarranged by
disease or by abnormal conditions of
some sort Excessively high measures
Of heat may be borne for several min
utes 10y an individual without raising
his temperature more than II fraction
of n degree. Persons who sometimes
are styled human salamanders have
given exhibitions of their ability to
stand high temperatures.
There IS an authentic case recorded
Of Martinez the 50 called French sala-
mander, baker by trade. who exposed
himself 10 high temperatures from boy
hood lie remained III an oven erected
III the Ityoli gardens for fourteen min
ates When the temperature in Il was
Is degrees His pulse on entering
Ras seReHtXSiN 4 minute aud had
reached 80 when he came out He
often duplicated this performance.
ehanouni, celebrated Russian sal
amand.t. " ho called himself the In
eembustihle used 10 20 into an oven
aud stay While leg Of mutton WAS
roasted there. not coming out until the
meat Vas well DONE lie eventually
lost hts life IN one Of these perform
auces
Fever Is a rise Of temperature above
fhe normal level This rise Is seldom
beyond 106 degrees. Mental and merry
Gus Influences may so act for n time as
to disorder the control Of the Their
motaXic nerve center and cause fever.
II Is interesting to note some OF the
high temperatures which are on med
ical record as having actually occurred
in certain diseases. Guys hospital in
London records the case of II hySter- /
teal woman afflicted with tuberculosis |
Of one lung who showed 40 degrees.
Al Il meeting of the Association of
American Physicians in 1895 Dir. ia
cobb of New York reported a patient
In whom fever reached the almost in
credible figure OF l1S degrees +. This
ease occurred In n hysterical fireman
who had suffered ii severe injury from
n fail
In the discussion which followed the
report of this ease among the members
of the association Dir. Walch OF Balti-
mere referred to q condition Of hyper
thermy TINT had come To his knowl-
edge in which the temperature was
recorded us Ill degrees i. or course
such exceedingly high temperatures
are of only short duration or death
would cuSuc.
Fever Is not the only disturbance
which may alter temperature. Certain
conditions, especially those due 10 dis
eases like tuberculosis. acute alcohol
ism. mclancholia, convalescencc from
feNerS, poisoning from various drugs,
and 81 forth may cause the bodily
warmth To become subnormal. In
iurles and surgical shock also origi,
nate he same effect. Starvation al
ways induces gradual fail.
Low temperatures are always dan.
scrous, and unless Il reaction quickly
ensures by aid of relief measures, II
fatal termination may be expected.
The lowest recorded during life that
may be regarded as reliable Is one re-
ported by Duffy in which the Their
momcter registered 81 degrees i.
Death cnsued the following day.
The body however, can withstand
extreme cold more readily than II can
extreme heat before the regulating
center becomes disordcrcd. and SO,
other things being equal, freezing TO
death is not as common in cold eli
,nntae s,,uStrola IL In warm