The higher animals have within their bodies certain sources of heat, and also some mechanism by means of which both the production and loss of heat can be regulated.  This is conclusively shown by the fact that both in summer and winter their mean temperature remains the same.  But it was not until the introduction of thermometers that any exact data on the temperature of animals could be obtained.  It was then found that local differences were present, since heat production and heat loss vary considerably in different parts of the body, although the circulation of the blood tends to bring about a mean temperature of the internal parts.  Hence it is important to determine the temperature of those parts which most nearly approaches to that of the internal organs.  Also for such results to be comparable they must be made in the same situation.  The rectum gives most accurately the temperature of internal parts, or in women and some animals the vagina, uterus or bladder.

[v.02 p.0049]

Occasionally that of the urine as it leaves the urethra may be of use. 
More usually the temperature is taken in the mouth, axilla or groin.

Warm and Cold Blooded Animals.—­By numerous observations upon men and animals, John Hunter showed that the essential difference between the so-called warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals lies in the constancy of the temperature of the former, and the variability of the temperature of the latter.  Those animals high in the scale of evolution, as birds and mammals, have a high temperature almost constant and independent of that of the surrounding air, whereas among the lower animals there is much variation of body temperature, dependent entirely on their surroundings.  There are, however, certain mammals which are exceptions, being warm-blooded during the summer, but cold-blooded during the winter when they hibernate; such are the hedgehog, bat and dormouse.  John Hunter suggested that two groups should be known as “animals of permanent heat at all atmospheres” and “animals of a heat variable with every atmosphere,” but later Bergmann suggested that they should be known as “homoiothermic” and “poikilothermic” animals.  But it must be remembered there is no hard and fast line between the two groups.  Also, from work recently done by J.O.  Wakelin Barratt, it has been shown that under certain pathological conditions a warm-blooded (homoiothermic) animal may become for a time cold-blooded (poikilothermic).  He has shown conclusively that this condition exists in rabbits suffering from rabies during the last period of their life, the rectal temperature being then within a few degrees of the room temperature and varying with it.  He explains this condition by the assumption that the nervous mechanism of heat regulation has become paralysed.  The respiration and heart-rate being also retarded during this period, the resemblance to the condition of hibernation is considerable.  Again, Sutherland Simpson has shown that during deep