Is Your Heart Too Hot To Hold?

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To settle a bet with your best friend, you jam your hand deep into his thoracic cavity to grip his heart. You want to see whether it’s actually as searing-hot as he claims it is. Will it burn your hand? Are your internal organs too hot to hold onto? Well… no. But there’s more to it than you think.

Confusion over temperature scales misleads people worldwide, but the biological reality is that homeostasis keeps your insides at a fairly stable core temperature because it has to. Humans just aren’t like lizards, fish, and ostriches. The human hypothalamus acts as a thermostat to keep everything running smoothly -- except when you have a fever. But even that has a purpose.

Thermoregulation is the key to our survival, and it means that we just never get too hot or too cold. Our internal organs are a little hotter than the rest of us, but it’s not going to scorch your surgeon’s hands.

But your insides may be warm enough to cook something…

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Hosted and Produced by Kevin Lieber
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Research and Writing by Matthew Tabor
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Editing by John Swan
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Huge Thanks To Paula Lieber
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Select Music By Jake Chudnow: https://www.youtube.com/user/JakeChudnow

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S01E377 - Brushing Your Teeth with a Toothpaste Sandwich