Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (647 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Measuring instruments for determining the temperature of matter. Most thermometers used in the field of medicine are designed for measuring body temperature or for use in the clinical laboratory. (From umdns, 1999)
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Thermometer.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Equipment and Supplies
Related concepts
- Umdns
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 4,004 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Thermometers” (counts retrieved 2026-11-04). 363 of them (9.1%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 2,303 records.
Reviews account for 193 records (4.8%) and meta-analyses for 16. Randomized controlled trials number 72 (1.8%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 2,303 |
| 2000-2009 | 663 |
| 2010-2019 | 675 |
| 2020 onward | 363 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 193 | 4.8% |
| Meta-analyses | 16 | 0.4% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 72 | 1.8% |
Method: PubMed query "Thermometers"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-11-04.
Reading the evidence in diagnostics and medical technology
A test or device is judged by how well it detects a condition, how often it gives false alarms or misses cases, and whether using it improves outcomes for people. Accuracy depends on who is tested and how common the condition is, so a test that performs well in a specialist hospital can perform differently in the community. Check the reference standard, the population studied, the sensitivity and specificity and whether results were confirmed in a separate group.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ratiometric nanothermometer in vivo based on triplet sensitized upconversion | 2018 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 128 | cc by PMID 30002372 · DOI · PMC6043590 |
| A molecular fluorescent probe for targeted visualization of temperature at the endoplasmic reticulum | 2014 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 126 | cc by PMID 25330751 · DOI · PMC4204065 |
| Genetically encoded ratiometric fluorescent thermometer with wide range and rapid response | 2017 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 91 | cc by PMID 28212432 · DOI · PMC5315395 |
| A Sensitive Ratiometric Thermometer Constructed by AIEgen-Based Mixed Lanthanide MOF for Intracellular Temperature Mapping | 2025 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 9 | cc by PMID 40791135 · DOI · PMC12591144 |
Ratiometric nanothermometer in vivo based on triplet sensitized upconversion [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Temperature is an essential factor that counts for living systems where complicated vital activities are usually temperature dependent.
- Closing excerpt
- 1 K).
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (114 words)
Temperature is an essential factor that counts for living systems where complicated vital activities are usually temperature dependent. In vivo temperature mapping based on non-contact optical approach will be beneficial for revealing the physiological phenomena behind with minimized influence to the organism. Herein, a highly thermal-sensitive upconversion system based on triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) mechanism is pioneered to indicate body temperature variation sensitively over the physiological temperature range. The temperature-insensitive NaYF4: Nd nanophosphors with NIR emission was incorporated into the temperature-responsive TTA-upconversion system to serve as an internal calibration unit. Consequently, a ratiometric thermometer capable of accurately monitoring the temperature changes in vivo was developed with high thermal sensitivity (~7.1% K-1) and resolution (~0.1 K).
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 30002372 · DOI · PMC6043590
A molecular fluorescent probe for targeted visualization of temperature at the endoplasmic reticulum [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The dynamics of cellular heat production and propagation remains elusive at a subcellular level.
- Closing excerpt
- the heat source, allowed the detection of the heat as it readily dissipated, and revealed the dynamics of heat production in real time at a subcellular level.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (133 words)
The dynamics of cellular heat production and propagation remains elusive at a subcellular level. Here we report the first small molecule fluorescent thermometer selectively targeting the endoplasmic reticulum (ER thermo yellow), with the highest sensitivity reported so far (3.9%/°C). Unlike nanoparticle thermometers, ER thermo yellow stains the target organelle evenly without the commonly encountered problem of aggregation, and successfully demonstrates the ability to monitor intracellular temperature gradients generated by external heat sources in various cell types. We further confirm the ability of ER thermo yellow to monitor heat production by intracellular Ca(2+) changes in HeLa cells. Our thermometer anchored at nearly-zero distance from the ER, i.e. the heat source, allowed the detection of the heat as it readily dissipated, and revealed the dynamics of heat production in real time at a subcellular level.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 25330751 · DOI · PMC4204065
Genetically encoded ratiometric fluorescent thermometer with wide range and rapid response [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Temperature is a fundamental physical parameter that plays an important role in biological reactions and events.
- Closing excerpt
- Moreover, exploiting the wide temperature range of sensitivity from 5°C to 50°C of gTEMP, we monitored the temperature in a living medaka embryo for 15 hours and showed the feasibility of in vivo thermometry in various living species.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (230 words)
Temperature is a fundamental physical parameter that plays an important role in biological reactions and events. Although thermometers developed previously have been used to investigate several important phenomena, such as heterogeneous temperature distribution in a single living cell and heat generation in mitochondria, the development of a thermometer with a sensitivity over a wide temperature range and rapid response is still desired to quantify temperature change in not only homeotherms but also poikilotherms from the cellular level to in vivo. To overcome the weaknesses of the conventional thermometers, such as a limitation of applicable species and a low temporal resolution, owing to the narrow temperature range of sensitivity and the thermometry method, respectively, we developed a genetically encoded ratiometric fluorescent temperature indicator, gTEMP, by using two fluorescent proteins with different temperature sensitivities. Our thermometric method enabled a fast tracking of the temperature change with a time resolution of 50 ms. We used this method to observe the spatiotemporal temperature change between the cytoplasm and nucleus in cells, and quantified thermogenesis from the mitochondria matrix in a single living cell after stimulation with carbonyl cyanide 4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenylhydrazone, which was an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation. Moreover, exploiting the wide temperature range of sensitivity from 5°C to 50°C of gTEMP, we monitored the temperature in a living medaka embryo for 15 hours and showed the feasibility of in vivo thermometry in various living species.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 28212432 · DOI · PMC5315395
A Sensitive Ratiometric Thermometer Constructed by AIEgen-Based Mixed Lanthanide MOF for Intracellular Temperature Mapping [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Accurate temperature sensing at the subcellular level is of great significance for gaining insights into a wide range of biological processes.
- Closing excerpt
- This work demonstrates the first example that MOF-based ratio thermometers can be practically used in living cells.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (170 words)
Accurate temperature sensing at the subcellular level is of great significance for gaining insights into a wide range of biological processes. Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is a promising photophysical phenomenon in which the luminescence intensity is highly related to the degree of restriction of intramolecular motions. By combining AIE luminogen (AIEgen) ligands with mixed lanthanide ions, an AIEgen-based mixed lanthanide MOF (LnMOF) can be synthesized. In this unique MOF matrix, the vibrations of pendant phenyl rings in the AIEgen ligands are particularly sensitive to temperature changes, rendering the mixed LnMOF highly sensitive as a ratiometric thermometer. Within the physiological temperature range (291-321 K), the maximum relative sensitivity (Sm) is ≈7.32% K-1 at 321 K, demonstrating superior performance compared to reported ratiometric luminescent MOFs. With the aim of detecting intracellular temperature, the mixed LnMOF at the nanoscale is synthesized and further modified, enabling the visual detection of intracellular temperature in L929 cells and HeLa cells. This work demonstrates the first example that MOF-based ratio thermometers can be practically used in living cells.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 40791135 · DOI · PMC12591144
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Normal oral, rectal, tympanic and axillary body temperature in adult men and women: a systematic literature review [5]
- Research article Core temperature measurement: methods and current insights [6]
- Research article Accuracy of peripheral thermometers for estimating temperature: a systematic review and meta-analysis [7]
- Research article Infrared ear thermometry compared with rectal thermometry in children: a systematic review [8]
- Research article Neuronal TRP channels: thermometers, pathfinders and life-savers [9]
- Research article Thermometry in paediatric practice [10]
References
- Xu M, Zou X, Su Q, Yuan W, Cao C, Wang Q, et al.. Ratiometric nanothermometer in vivo based on triplet sensitized upconversion. . 2018. PMID 30002372 · DOI · PMC6043590
- Arai S, Lee SC, Zhai D, Suzuki M, Chang YT. A molecular fluorescent probe for targeted visualization of temperature at the endoplasmic reticulum. . 2014. PMID 25330751 · DOI · PMC4204065
- Nakano M, Arai Y, Kotera I, Okabe K, Kamei Y, Nagai T. Genetically encoded ratiometric fluorescent thermometer with wide range and rapid response. . 2017. PMID 28212432 · DOI · PMC5315395
- Li Z, Zhang J, Wu Z, Lei H, Zhao Y, Qi W, et al.. A Sensitive Ratiometric Thermometer Constructed by AIEgen-Based Mixed Lanthanide MOF for Intracellular Temperature Mapping. . 2025. PMID 40791135 · DOI · PMC12591144
- Sund-Levander M, Forsberg C, Wahren LK. Normal oral, rectal, tympanic and axillary body temperature in adult men and women: a systematic literature review. Scand J Caring Sci. 2002. PMID 12000664 · DOI
- Moran DS, Mendal L. Core temperature measurement: methods and current insights. Sports Med. 2002. PMID 12427049 · DOI
- Niven DJ, Gaudet JE, Laupland KB, Mrklas KJ, Roberts DJ, Stelfox HT. Accuracy of peripheral thermometers for estimating temperature: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann Intern Med. 2015. PMID 26571241 · DOI
- Craig JV, Lancaster GA, Taylor S, Williamson PR, Smyth RL. Infrared ear thermometry compared with rectal thermometry in children: a systematic review. Lancet. 2002. PMID 12241932 · DOI
- Talavera K, Nilius B, Voets T. Neuronal TRP channels: thermometers, pathfinders and life-savers. Trends Neurosci. 2008. PMID 18471901 · DOI
- El-Radhi AS, Barry W. Thermometry in paediatric practice. Arch Dis Child. 2006. PMID 16551792 · DOI · PMC2065972
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.