Why thermometers are kept......................?

Question

kept under tongue or under arms for measuring temperature
i know they are kept in some places else as well.but what is the significance of under tongue and under arm.

Answer 1

Because both of these places are close to arteries/veins and thusly have a temperature extremely close to your internal body temperature.

Answer 2

Those areas give the most accurate reading. Ideally, the closer to the core of the body the better. The surface (skin) can often be much warmer or cooler than the true body temperature because of environmental factors. The best places to obtain a near-accurate reading are under the tongue (where we tend to stay somewhat constant), under the arm (less accurate, but more tolerable for small children), in the ear canal, and the rectum (most accurate, as stated above).

Now, I cannot let this question go without passing along the following:

Q: What's the difference between an oral and a rectal thermometer?
A: The taste.

Answer 3

Simply stated- thermometers measure body heat and these locations on your body are the ones that contain the most heat - closest to the core temp(heart & organs) which is why rectal is most accurate, ear, then mouth - etc and forehead being least accurate since it is an open exposed surface.

The goal of thermometry is to measure core body temperature, which is the temperature of the vital organs such as heart and brain. These sites are not easily accessible for temperature measurement at home or in a doctor' s office. This is why other, more accessible sites for temperature measurement have been identified. In a non-critical medical setting, or at home, temperatures are commonly taken at the following body sites: axilla (underarm), mouth, rectum, temple / forehead and ear. Ear temperatures accurately reflect core body temperature, since the eardrum shares blood supply with the temperature control center in the brain, the hypothalamus. Therefore, changes in body temperature are reflected sooner and more accurately in the ear than at other sites.
The rectum gives most accurately the temperature of internal parts.

Answer 4

Under the tongue and in the rectum are the best places as they are more core-central. If you take a temp under the arm, you should theoretically add a degree to the actual reading as it's not an internal core spot.

Answer 5

The other area to put a thermometer is in your rectum. All areas are near the core of your body and can read an accurate temperature where your body is moist and warm.

Answer 6

there are two types of temperature markings.

Temperature marking for Shell temperature (referring to the surface temperature) and Core temperature (the actual temperature close to the blood, it is in constant value)

Shell temperature are the temperature of the skin. Thus armpits/ axilla is choosen.
Core temperature are taken at the rectal, oral and external auditory meatus (the ear tube)

this is what i learnt in medical school. hope i answered u.

Answer 7

B/c it is easy to hold the thermometer in place ther. What else are you gonn ado, hold it up next to your skin? It gets a reading b/c it is surrounded by flesh, you know instead of just being held next to your body. You could prob. do it behind your knees, elbow-pit,etc.

Answer 8

Bcoz they are able to tell us the body temperature, as are unaffected by external temperature

Answer 9

because thats the warmest part of your body