Vital Signs: Temperature Checking

What is this article about?

Body temperature is a vital sign used to assess the body’s ability to create and expel heat. When measured together with other vital signs, body temperature can help paint an overall picture of a patient’s health and assess circulatory, respiratory, neural and endocrine functioning. Vital signs are highly useful as they are a simple and cost-effective way of gathering information about a patient’s essential physiological functions. Measuring a patient’s temperature is specifically useful for identifying possible fever, hyperthermia or hypothermia.