ON THE CAUSES OF DIURNAL BODY TEMPERATURE RHYTHM IN MAN, WITH REFERENCE TO OBSERVATIONS DURING VOYAGE

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Abstract
As a part of studies on the physiological mechanism for the establish ment and maintenance of diurnal body temperature rhythm, observation to reveal possible factors affecting the development of temperature pattern was made with particular reference to observations during voyage and the length of daily routine. The time of morning rise in body temperature coincided best with the respective local time, and less with the respective longitude, the time of sunrise or sunset. During severe vertigo due to seasickness, the temperature rise in the daytime was suppressed remarkably, but the morning rise hardly disappeared under any circumstances. High ambient temperature during the voyage exerted no influence on the level of temperature plateau in the daytime, but it delayed the night fall. Any change in the diurnal fluctuation was not observed in the temperature curve taken in a cell 320 m under the ground. Based on observation of daily pattern of body temperature during prolonged or inverted daily routine, irregular shift of daily routine for years and during vertigo caused by medicine, it is highly reasonable to assume that the mechanism is primarily attributable to the inner rhythm of functional pattern which has been acquired mainly through vestibular functions. Besides, it may be presumed that there exists a certain limit to the non-twenty-four-hour schedule of living to which the body temperature rhythm can adjust itself.

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