Hemathermous

/ˌhɛməˈθɜːrməs/ adjective

Definition

Relating to or characterized by warm blood; warm-blooded; referring to animals that maintain constant body temperature through blood circulation.

Etymology

From hema- (blood) plus therm- (heat, from Greek thermē) plus -ous (adjective suffix). The term literally means having warm blood, an older way of describing endothermic animals.

Kelly Says

Hemathermous is an old-fashioned way to say 'warm-blooded,' but it reveals how biologists once thought of temperature as literally being IN the blood rather than regulated by metabolism!

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