poikilothermia

American  

[poi-kuh-loh-thur-mee-uh, poi-kil-uh-] / ˌpɔɪ kə loʊˈθɜr mi ə, pɔɪˌkɪl ə- /

noun

1. Medicine/Medical. the inability to regulate core body temperature (as by sweating to cool off or by putting on clothes to warm up), found especially in some spinal cord injury patients and in patients under general anesthesia.

2. Zoology. poikilothermism.

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Etymology

Origin of poikilothermia

First recorded in 1910–15; from Greek poikilos “various” + therm- ( def. ) + -ia ( def. )