Clinical Axila Thermometer
date: label: Date made
content: 1845-1874
name: label: retailer
content: Arnold, Francis
label: maker
content: Arnold, Francis
notes: label: Description
content: How do you know you are running a temperature? Do you feel hot or do you feel cold? There are many ways to determine body temperature. A hand placed on the forehead can indicate someone is hot or "feverish." For a more accurate measurement of someone's temperature, you need a clinical thermometer. Mouth,axilla (armpit), ear, and rectal are some of the different types of clinical thermometers.
label: Description
content: Clinical thermometers for measuring body temperature were introduced in the 17th century. But, they did not become an integral part of the physician's armamentarium until after the American Civil War.
label: Description
content: Early clinical thermometers were thin tubes of glass containing mercury, mounted to a rectangular piece of ivory or wood. The calibration, or graduated scale, was engraved into the mount.
label: Description
content: This axilla thermometer was sold by Francis Arnold, of Baltimore, Maryland. Arnold was listed as a surgical instrument maker on South Sharp Street in the Baltimore City Directory from 1845 to 1874.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Maryland, Baltimore
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
label: See more items in
content: Health & Medicine
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content: Measuring & Mapping
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: The Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of the State of Maryland
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MG.302606.030
label: accession number
content: 302606
label: catalog number
content: 302606.030
objectType: label: Object Name
content: thermometer, clinical
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: glass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ivory (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: mercury (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: average spatial: 13.8 cm x 1.7 cm x 4 cm; 5 7/16 in x 11/16 in x 1 9/16 in
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5/8 in x 5 5/8 in x 1 1/8 in; 1.5875 cm x 14.2875 cm x 2.8575 cm
label: Measurements
content: horizontally, resting on scale: 1/2 in x 5 1/2 in x 1 1/2 in; 1.27 cm x 13.97 cm x 3.81 cm