The Description of the Human Body The Description of the Human Body The Description of the Human Body () is an unfinished treatise written in 1647 by René Descartes (1596-1650). Descartes felt knowing oneself was particularly useful. This for him included medical knowledge. He hoped to cure and prevent disease, even to slow down aging. René Descartes believed the soul caused conscious thought. The body caused automatic functions like the beating of the heart and digestion he felt. The body was necessary for voluntary movement as well as the will. However, he believed the power to move the body was wrongly imagined to come from the
Human body temperature Human body temperature Normal human body temperature, also known as normothermia or euthermia, is the typical temperature range found in humans. The normal human body temperature range is typically stated as . Individual body temperature depends upon the age, exertion, infection, sex, and reproductive status of the subject, the time of day, the place in the body at which the measurement is made, and the subject's state of consciousness (waking, sleeping or sedated), activity level, and emotional state. It is typically maintained within this range by thermoregulation. Taking a person's temperature is an initial part of a full clinical examination.