Taking the temperature of 37°C - a podcast by BMJ Group

from 2017-12-13T17:00:09

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Average body temperature is 37°C, right?

That was the conclusion of Carl Wunderlich in his magnum opus, The Course of Temperature in Diseases - Wunderlich published that in 1868, following his extensive collection of body temperature readings - and 37°C stuck. But, it’s not as simple as thatPhilip Mackowiak, emeritus professor of medicine, and now history of medicine scholar in residence, at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has been interested in temperature for a long time. He joins us to explain how Wunderlich measured temperature, and what he actually found.

Read his editorial:

http://www.bmj.com/content/359/bmj.j5697

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