Page 240 - Primary Five Science

1. Clinical thermometer

A small medical thermometer with a short but finely calibrat-

ed range, for taking a person's temperature.

A Clinical thermometer is the type of thermometer used to

measure the temperature of a human body. It is also called a

doctor’s thermometer.

Characteristics of a Clinical Thermometer

1. A 'kink' in the glass tube which breaks the mercury as it con-

tracts, storing the highest temperature reading. This kink

stops the temperature reading from falling as soon as the

thermometer is removed from the patient so that the high-

est reading is recorded.

2. The glass tube is shaped like a lens to magnify the thin mer-
cury thread. Shaking the thermometer resets the mercury

back into the bulb.

3. It has an arrow that points to 37°C to show the normal body

temperature

4. Its scale starts from 34°C and ends at 42°C

5. It has a constriction or kink

The normal body temperature for a human being is about

37°C. If this temperature rises above 38°C then the per-
son has a fever. If it lowers past 34°C then the person has hy-

pothermia. Extreme temperature rises and falls will cause
serious damage to the body or even death.