normal temperature

temperature /tem·per·a·ture/ (tem´per-ah-chur)

1. an expression of heat or coldness in terms of a specific scale; a measure of the average kinetic energy due to thermal agitation of the particles in a system. Symbol .

2. the level of heat natural to a living being.

3. colloquial term for fever.

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absolute temperature  (T ) that reckoned from absolute zero (−273.15°C or −459.67°F), expressed on an absolute scale.

basal body temperature  (BBT) the temperature of the body under conditions of absolute rest.

core temperature  the temperature of structures deep within the body, as opposed to peripheral temperature such as that of the skin.

critical temperature  that below which a gas may be converted to a liquid by increased pressure.

normal temperature  that of the human body in health, about 98.6°F or 37°C when measured orally.

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normal temperature

Etymology: L, norma, rule, temperatura

for a normal person at rest, an oral clinical temperature of 98.6° F or 37° C. Actual "normal" temperatures may range a fraction of a degree or increments of a whole degree higher or lower because of effects of sleep, exercise, eating, sleeping, metabolism, and the ambient temperature. Rectal temperature also averages a fraction of a degree higher than oral temperatures, and axillary readings are usually lower than oral temperatures.