Clinical Thermometer – Discovering The History Of This Significant Instrument

As is always said, necessity is the mother of the invention. Man, a long time ago, needed a tool to measure changes in the temperature-especially for the sick. This led to the invention of the thermometer, which according the Mr. Webster is generally a device used in measuring temperature. Though thermometers come today in a variety of designs, most are still designed as a glass bulb attached to a fine tube of glass that contains a sealed in liquid that rises and falls with changes of temperature. They also come with a numbered scale that measures temperature in a quantitative way. Among the most common types of thermometers today are those used for medical purposes called clinical thermometers.

Generally, a thermometer is a device that measures the temperature of a system in a quantitative way. Today, these devices are deemed vital in clinical examinations. The invention of the thermometer was credited to Galileo Galilei in 1593. Galileo invented a rudimentary water thermoscope-a thermometer without a scale-that allowed temperature variations to be measured. A numerical scale was added to the thermoscope in 1612 by the Italian inventor Santorio Santorio. The device was designed to be placed in a patient’s mouth for temperature taking.

Various modifications aimed at improving how the thermometer measures temperature were made on Galileo and Santorio’s invention on the next years that followed. Most notable among these are the Fahrenheit and Centigrade temperature scales-which are today the standard units used in most thermometers like clinical thermometers. The Fahrenheit scale was invented, along with the mercury thermometer in 1714 by Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit. Swedish Astronomer Anders Celsius, on the other hand, invented the centigrade scale-which has 100 degrees between the freezing and the boiling points-in 1742,

As was earlier stated, thermometers are today available in a variety of types. Generally, modern thermometers can be categorized into three. First among these is the type of thermometers based on their measurement unit. Included in this category are Fahrenheit and Celsius thermometers, which were already discussed earlier. Another category of thermometers are those based on their applications. Included in this category are clinical thermometers, food thermometers, and outdoor thermometers. Clinical thermometers, as the name suggests, are used for medical purposes while food thermometers such as dial-oven safe thermometers are employed in cooking. Alternatively, outdoor thermometers are used to measure the temperature of the surrounding air. Lastly, thermometers are also categorized based on their mechanism-that is, how they measure temperature. Included in this category are digital thermometers that employ thermocouples or thermistors to measure changes in the temperature and mercury and alcohol temperatures.

Clinical thermometers are among the most popular types of thermometer today. They are primarily used in medical facilities and designed to measure temperatures of humans and animals. Depending on their design, these devices may be inserted in the mouth, anus, armpit, or ear to measure the temperature. As such, it is a must that the device be sterilized after use. Also, the thermometer should also be always calibrated-either manually based from the instructions in the manual or by returning to the manufacturer-to ensure that the readings are always correct.

Thermometers such as clinical thermometers can be considered one of the most important inventions of the millennium as these devices significantly improved the medical industry in the past years since their invention. They are must have instruments not only in hospitals and industries but in households as well.

Michelle Williams is a midwife from Germany. Ms. Williams always brings with her a fieberthermometer (also known as ‘clinical thermometer in the English language) which she uses to measure the temperature of her patients.

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