Question

The faster breathing in high fever is due to the

• A. Mental stress of a patient.
• B. High temperature of the body.
• C. Additional requirement of $O_2$ for the invader germs.
• D. Loss of appetite.

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

Fever is the temporary increase in the body's temperature in response to some disease or illness. During fever due to increased perspiration, blood and urine volumes are reduced. Proteins are rapidly broken down which leads to increased excretion of nitrogenous products in the urine. Due to increased metabolism, there is increases in the demand of oxygen by tissue cells. This means the heart must contract more frequently to keep up with the demand and breathing is accelerated to increase the rate of oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange.

Thus, the correct answer is option B.