Which term describes an elevated body temperature?

• A. Hyperthermia
• B. Heat Exhaustion
• C. Fever
• D. Hypothermia

Answer: (C)

An elevated body temperature is fever. This occurs when the hypothalamus raises the body’s temperature set-point in response to immune signals called pyrogens from infection or inflammation. The body then generates heat through shivering and reduces heat loss to reach the higher set-point, and you may feel chills. When the pyrogens are cleared and the set-point returns to normal, heat-dissipation processes like sweating and vasodilation bring the temperature down. This regulated rise is what distinguishes fever from other temperature increases. Hyperthermia is an unregulated rise in temperature due to external heat or impaired cooling, without a changed hypothalamic set-point. Heat exhaustion is a heat illness from dehydration that can raise temperature but isn’t driven by a new temperature set-point, and hypothermia is a dangerous drop in core temperature from cold exposure.