Ivy Tech APHY 101 – An Introduction to the Human Body Practice Test

Normal body temperature is the level your body maintains as a typical baseline, about 37°C, which is roughly 98.6°F when measured orally. This value is the classic standard teachers and textbooks use to define a normal reading. While individual measurements can vary a little and different measurement sites (oral, rectal, armpit, ear) give slightly different numbers, 98.6°F is the commonly cited normal value. Seeing 98.6°C would be impossible for a living person and would indicate a severe error or fever, while 100°F or 99.5°F are within the normal range but aren’t the standard benchmark often listed.