Temperature method Health Dictionary

A method of CONTRACEPTION which attempts to prevent conception by avoiding intercourse during the fertile part of the menstrual cycle. (See MENSTRUATION; SAFE PERIOD.)... rhythm method

Body temperature is the result of a balance of heat-generating forces, chie?y METABOLISM and muscular activity, and heat-loss, mainly from blood circulation through and evaporation from the skin and lungs. The physiological process of homeostasis – a neurological and hormonal feedback mechanism – maintains the healthy person’s body at the correct temperature. Disturbance of temperature, as in disease, may be caused by impairment of any of these bodily functions, or by malfunction of the controlling centre in the brain.

In humans the ‘normal’ temperature is around 37 °C (98·4 °F). It may rise as high as 43 °C or fall to 32 °C in various conditions, but the risk to life is only serious above 41 °C or below 35 °C.

Fall in temperature may accompany major loss of blood, starvation, and the state of collapse (see SHOCK) which may occur in severe FEVER and other acute conditions. Certain chronic diseases, notably hypothyroidism (see THYROID GLAND, DISEASES OF), are generally accompanied by a subnormal temperature. Increased temperature is a characteristic of many acute diseases, particularly infections; indeed, many diseases have a characteristic pattern that enables a provisional diagnosis to be made or acts as a warning of possible complications. In most cases the temperature gradually abates as the patient recovers, but in others, such as PNEUMONIA and TYPHUS FEVER, the untreated disease ends rapidly by a CRISIS in which the temperature falls, perspiration breaks out, the pulse rate falls, and breathing becomes quieter. This crisis is often preceded by an increase in symptoms, including an epicritical rise in temperature.

Body temperature is usually measured on the Celsius scale, on a thermometer reading from 35 °C to 43·3 °C. Measurement may be taken in the mouth (under the tongue), in the armpit, the external ear canal or (occasionally in infants) in the rectum. (See also THERMOMETER.)

Treatment Abnormally low temperatures may be treated by application of external heat, or reduction of heat loss from the body surface. High temperature may be treated in various ways, apart from the primary treatment of the underlying condition. Treatment of hyperthermia or hypothermia should ensure a gradual return to normal temperature (see ANTIPYRETICS.... temperature

Research based on critical evaluation through observation or experimentation, not opinion or speculation.... empirical methods

The scientific study of methods.... methodology

A method of preventing pregnancy by blocking the passage of sperm to the uterus, for example by using a condom or a diaphragm. (See also contraception, barrier methods of.)... barrier method

Also called the mucus inspection method, a technique in which a woman notes changes in the characteristics of mucus produced by the cervix in order to predict ovulation for the purposes of contraception or family planning.... billings’ method

A method of contraception, also called the rhythm method, based on abstaining from sexual intercourse around the time of ovulation (calculated by a woman’s menstrual cycles). The method is unreliable because the menstrual cycle may vary (see contraception, natural methods).... calendar method

A form of contraception based on identifying periods for abstinence from intercourse according to the changes in the mucus secreted by a woman’s cervix (see contraception, natural methods of).... cervical mucus method

The use by women of synthetic progestogen drugs, which are often combined with synthetic oestrogens, to prevent pregnancy.

These drugs suppress ovulation and make cervical mucus thick and impenetrable to sperm.

They also cause thinning of the endometrium (lining of the uterus), which reduces the chance of a fertilized egg implanting successfully.

The best-known form of hormonal contraception is the contraceptive pill (see oral contraceptives).

The hormones can also be given as contraceptive implants under the skin, by injection (see contraceptives, injectable), or be released by IUDs.... contraception, hormonal methods of

See coitus interruptus.... contraception, withdrawal method of

See contraception, natural methods of.... mucus method of contraception

See contraception, natural methods of.... symptothermal method

See coitus interruptus.... withdrawal method

a method of planning pregnancy involving the daily examination of cervical mucus, which varies in consistency and colour throughout the menstrual cycle. Use of a Billings mucus observation chart to help identify the type of mucus enables the woman to have six days’ warning of impending ovulation. [J. and E. Billings (20th century), Australian physicians]... billings method

the temperature of the body, as measured by a thermometer. Body temperature is accurately controlled by a small area at the base of the brain (the *hypothalamus); in normal individuals it is maintained at about 37°C (98.4°F). Heat production by the body arises as the result of vital activities (e.g. respiration, heartbeat, circulation, secretion) and from the muscular effort of exercise and shivering. A rise in body temperature occurs in fever.... body temperature

a technique for expelling the placenta from the uterus. Upward pressure is applied to the uterus through the abdominal wall while holding the umbilical cord taut. When the uterus is elevated in this way, the placenta will be in the cervix or upper vagina and is then expelled by applying pressure below the base of the uterus. [T. Brandt (1819–95), Swedish obstetrician; H. R. Andrews (1872–1942), British gynaecologist]... brandt–andrews method

Methods of avoiding conception based on attempts to pinpoint a woman’s fertile period around the time of ovulation, so that sexual intercourse can be avoided at this time. The calendar method is based on the assumption that ovulation occurs around 14 days before menstruation. Because of its high failure rate, it has been largely superseded by other methods. The temperature method is based on the normal rise of a woman’s body temperature in the second half of the menstrual cycle, after ovulation has occurred. The woman takes her temperature daily using an ovulation thermometer. Sex is considered to be only safe after there has been a sustained temperature rise for at least 3 days.

The cervical mucus method attempts to pinpoint the fertile period by observing and charting the amount and appearance of cervical mucus during the menstrual cycle.

Recognized changes in the mucus occur before and often at ovulation.

The symptothermal method combines the temperature and cervical mucus methods.... contraception, natural methods of

(centigrade temperature) temperature expressed on a scale in which the melting point of ice is assigned a temperature of 0° and the boiling point of water a temperature of 100°. For many medical purposes this scale has superseded the Fahrenheit scale (see Fahrenheit temperature). The formula for converting from Celsius (C) to Fahrenheit (F) is: F = 9/5C + 32. [A. Celsius (1701–44), Swedish astronomer]... celsius temperature

see Celsius temperature.... centigrade temperature

temperature expressed on a scale in which the melting point of ice is assigned a temperature of 32° and the boiling point of water a temperature of 212°. For most medical purposes the Celsius (centigrade) scale has replaced the Fahrenheit scale. The formula for converting from Fahrenheit (F) to Celsius (C) is: C = 5/9(F – 32). See also Celsius temperature. [G. D. Fahrenheit (1686–1736), German physicist]... fahrenheit temperature

a method of staining for the demonstration of enzymes, especially phosphatases and lipases, in histological specimens. [G. Gomori (1904–57), Hungarian histochemist]... gomori’s method