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Disorders of Thermoregulation

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Critical Care Study Guide

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Abstract

The body’s ability to maintain core temperature within a very precisely defined range is truly remarkable. Intricate physiologic mechanisms are constantly at work to prevent wide swings in body temperature despite the effects of changing environmental conditions. These mechanisms take place subconsciously and are vital to the preservation of normal subcellular, cellular, organ, and total body function. Significant alterations in these mechanisms, resulting in profound elevation or depression of core temperature, may be life threatening. Heatstroke and profound hypothermia are the two major medical emergencies of disordered thermoregulation encountered in clinical practice, with malignant hyperthermia representing a special case of elevated core temperature.

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Authors
  1. Frederic H. Kauffman
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, 19140, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Gerard J. Criner MD (Professor of Medicine) & Gilbert E. D’Alonzo DO (Professor of Medicine) (Professor of Medicine) &  (Professor of Medicine)

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© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Kauffman, F.H. (2002). Disorders of Thermoregulation. In: Criner, G.J., D’Alonzo, G.E. (eds) Critical Care Study Guide. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3927-5_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3927-5_25

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-95164-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-3927-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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