Which term indicates an elevated body temperature due to failed thermoregulation?

Which term indicates an elevated body temperature due to failed thermoregulation?

• A. Hyperthermia
• B. Pyrexia
• C. Hyperpyrexia
• D. Fever

Answer: (A)

Hyperthermia occurs when the body's heat-dissipation systems fail to control heat gain, so core temperature rises without a change in the hypothalamic set point. In this situation, cooling mechanisms like sweating and vasodilation are overwhelmed by external heat or excessive internal heat production. This is different from fever (pyrexia), where pyrogens raise the hypothalamic set point and the body actively works to reach a higher temperature, often with chills and shivering as it climbs to the new set point. Hyperpyrexia describes an extremely high fever, which is still a regulated fever response but at a more severe level. So the elevation due to failed thermoregulation is hyperthermia.

Hyperthermia occurs when the body's heat-dissipation systems fail to control heat gain, so core temperature rises without a change in the hypothalamic set point. In this situation, cooling mechanisms like sweating and vasodilation are overwhelmed by external heat or excessive internal heat production. This is different from fever (pyrexia), where pyrogens raise the hypothalamic set point and the body actively works to reach a higher temperature, often with chills and shivering as it climbs to the new set point. Hyperpyrexia describes an extremely high fever, which is still a regulated fever response but at a more severe level. So the elevation due to failed thermoregulation is hyperthermia.