Constipation can be due to mild to moderate conditions, such as a poor diet, pregnancy or hemorrhoids. Serious and life-threatening causes of constipation include colon cancer and bowel obstruction. In some cases, constipation may be brief, such as may occur when you delay having a bowel movement when the urge is felt.
enÂ·doÂ·therm. (Änâ²dÉ-thÃ»rmâ²) n. An organism that generates heat to maintain its body temperature, typically above the temperature of its surroundings. endotherm.
In contrast to ectotherms, endotherms rely largely, even predominantly, on heat from internal metabolic processes. In ectotherms, fluctuating ambient temperatures may affect the body temperature. Such variation in body temperature is called poikilothermy, though the concept is not widely satisfactory and the use of the term is declining.