Excerpt from Comparative Study of Temperature Fluctuations in Different, Parts of the Human Body The normal body-temperature is a resultant of two factors, thermogenesis, or the development of heat inside the body; and thermolysis, the loss of heat from the body. Usually these two factors are so delicately adjusted as to be nearly equal in value and hence the resulting temperature of the body does not alter materially. When there are marked disturbances in either factor, we have changes in body-temperature. Innumerable experiments1 have been made to investigate the factors influencing both thermogenesis and thermolysis, and it has been proved that the most important factor affecting thermogenesis is muscular work, either voluntary or involuntary, while the most important factor affecting thermolysis is the temperature environment; this latter is particularly true of small animals. A knowledge of the fluctuations in body-temperature is of inestimable value to the physician as an index of the body condition; in health the normal limits are rarely exceeded, and consequently increased temperature indicates that radical measures must be taken. To the physiologist, also, a knowledge of the course of the normal body-temperature is important, and when experiments on calorimetry are attempted this factor has especial significance. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.