Fever vs. Hyperthermia - One Critical Minute [1CM]

In this One Critical Minute we focus on the difference between fever and hyperthermia.
Elevated body temperature is typically interpreted as fever, but it doesn't have to be. Fever, or pyrexia, is an increase in body temperature that occurs as a result of an increase in the hypothalamic set point, caused by inflammatory cytokines. Now what does this mean?
The hypothalamus functions as kind of like a thermostat for the body. If the thermostat in your home is set to 20 degrees celcius, if room temperature is 15 degrees, your heater will switch on until room temperature is 20 degrees, nice and comfortable. Likewise, if room temperature is 20 degrees but your thermostat is set to 30 degrees, your heater will switch on as well. Not that comfortable. This happens in fever: ideal body temperature is around 37 degrees celcius, so if your thermostat is set to 40 degrees, your body will see 37 degrees as too cold, and it will start to produce heat. The resetting of the hypothalamic setpoint occurs under the influence of inflammatory cytokines, mostly interleukin 1 and 6, and tissue necrosis factor-alpha.
Hyperthermia is an increase in body temperature that is not due to an increase in the hypothalamic setpoint by inflammatory cytokines. Causes can be subdivided into drug induced, environmental, endocrine, or neurogenic.

Watch my videos on hyperthermia!

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[pk]

Hi there, Jessica. I really love your videos. They are informative, concise and well prepared. In this one a tiny error seems to have slipped in. Doesn't TNF stand for Tumour Necrosis Factor? It's only nomenclature though. Thanks for doing this!!! Great job!