Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism

Organism

In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...

 to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. This process is one aspect of homeostasis

Homeostasis

Homeostasis is the property of a system that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition of properties like temperature or pH...

: a dynamic state of stability between an animal's internal environment and its external environment (the study of such processes in zoology

Zoology

Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...

 has been called ecophysiology

Ecophysiology

Ecophysiology or environmental physiology is a biological discipline which studies the adaptation of organism's physiology to environmental conditions...

 or physiological ecology). If the body is unable to maintain a normal temperature

Normal human body temperature

Normal human body temperature, also known as normothermia or euthermia, is a concept that depends upon the place in the body at which the measurement is made, and the time of day and level of activity of the person...

 and it increases significantly above normal, a condition known as hyperthermia

Hyperthermia

Hyperthermia is an elevated body temperature due to failed thermoregulation. Hyperthermia occurs when the body produces or absorbs more heat than it can dissipate...

 occurs.