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Article: Temperature Regulation
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- Biology
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Temperature Regulation
Humans and other mammals are homeothermic, able to maintain a relatively constant body temperature despite widely ranging environmental temperatures. Although the average human body temperature is 36.7 degrees Celsius (98.2 degrees Fahrenheit), this temperature varies depending on individual differences, time of day, the stage of sleep, and the ovulatory cycle in women. Temperature regulation, or thermoregulation, is the balance between
heat production mechanisms and heat loss mechanisms that occur to maintain a constant body temperature.
Heat flows from higher temperature to lower temperature. Conduction is the transfer of heat between objects that are in ...