ABSTRACT
Although fever has been recognized since antiquity as an accompaniment of illness (1), the ability to measure temperature clinically was developed only over the last 300 years (24). Temperature measurement continues to serve as a simple and direct method of tracking a patient’s progress and recovery from disease (particularly infectious). Body temperature was not routinely measured during anesthesia until malignant hyperthermia was described in the mid-1960s (5). Over the years, the art of temperature measurement has evolved to incorporate new advances in technology. Like so many other areas of care, measuring a patient’s temperature has become increasingly precise and efficient. Similarly, there is far better understanding of the ramifications and management of hypothermia and heat-related illnesses (Volume 1, Chapter 40), as well as the evaluation of fever (Volume 2, Chapter 46) following trauma and critical illness.
