Editing Thermoregulation (section)

{{Short description|Ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries}}
{{Redirect|Body heat||Body Heat (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Body temperature|information regarding normal human body temperature|Human body temperature|the 2011 Japanese film|Body Temperature (film){{!}}''Body Temperature'' (film)}}
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{{Thermoreg}}

'''Thermoregulation''' is the ability of an [[organism]] to keep its '''body temperature''' within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature as its own body temperature, thus avoiding the need for internal thermoregulation. The internal thermoregulation process is one aspect of [[homeostasis]]: a state of dynamic stability in an organism's internal conditions, maintained far from [[thermal equilibrium]] with its environment (the study of such processes in [[zoology]] has been called [[physiological ecology]]).

If the body is unable to maintain a [[normal human body temperature|normal temperature]] and it increases significantly above normal, a condition known as [[hyperthermia]] occurs. Humans may also experience lethal hyperthermia when the [[wet bulb temperature]] is sustained above {{convert|35|°C|°F}} for six hours.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100504155413.htm|title= Global Warming: Future Temperatures Could Exceed Livable Limits, Researchers Find}}</ref> Work in 2022 established by experiment that a wet-bulb temperature exceeding 30.55°C caused uncompensable heat stress in young, healthy adult humans<!--sourced in body-->. The opposite condition, when body temperature decreases below normal levels, is known as [[hypothermia]]. It results when the homeostatic control mechanisms of heat within the body malfunction, causing the body to lose heat faster than producing it. Normal body temperature is around 37°C (98.6°F), and hypothermia sets in when the core body temperature gets lower than {{convert|35|°C|°F}}.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypothermia/basics/definition/con-20020453|title=Hypothermia |work=Mayo Clinic|access-date=2017-05-01|language=en}}</ref> Usually caused by prolonged exposure to cold temperatures, hypothermia is usually treated by methods that attempt to raise the body temperature back to a normal range.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-hypothermia#1|title=Hypothermia: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment|work=WebMD|access-date=2017-05-01|language=en-US}}</ref>

It was not until the introduction of [[thermometer]]s that any exact data on the temperature of animals could be obtained. It was then found that local differences were present, since heat production and heat loss vary considerably in different parts of the body, although the circulation of the blood tends to bring about a mean temperature of the internal parts. Hence it is important to identify the parts of the body that most closely reflect the temperature of the [[internal organ]]s. Also, for such results to be comparable, the measurements must be conducted under comparable conditions. The [[rectum]] has traditionally been considered to reflect most accurately the temperature of internal parts, or in some cases of sex or species, the [[vagina]], [[uterus]] or [[Urinary bladder|bladder]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=48}} Some animals undergo one of various forms of [[dormancy]] where the thermoregulation process temporarily allows the body temperature to drop, thereby conserving energy. Examples include [[Hibernation|hibernating]] [[bear]]s and [[torpor]] in [[bat]]s.