system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How does the human body measure temperature?

I was wondering how does the human body measure its own temperature. How does it know that it's hotter or colder then normal. I take it its due to different nerve endings how how exactly the measure temp.

For example I understand how a regular thermometer works. When liquid is heated it expands and contracts when cooled. There is a scale that you could reference this too.

So how does the body measure temp?
gpt
Humans are homeotherms, maintaining an average core temperature of 37 +/- 0.5 degrees Celsius. Core temperature varies slightly due to environmental and metabolic factors. **This is maintained by the hypothalamus** in the brain. The temperature of the body is regulated by neural feedback mechanisms which operate primarily through the hypothalmus.


While core temperature is tightly regulated, skin temperature varies greatly in response to metabolism and the environment. **Temperature receptors in the skin (cold and hot)** detect these changes, initiating compensatory mechanisms through the central nervous system. Temperature receptors are located throughout the skin, as well as in the spinal cord, abdominal viscera, and in and around the great veins. Stimuli to these receptors triggers heat and cold sensitive neurons in the hypothalamus as well as higher cortical centers in the cerebrum. Once this info is received by the hypothalamus, it initiates control mechanisms.