The patient is being admitted to the emergency department after a motor vehicle accident.His jaw is broken,and he has several broken teeth.He is ashen,and his skin is cool and diaphoretic.To obtain an accurate temperature,the nurse uses which of the following routes?

A) Oral.
B) Axillary.
C) Rectal.
D) Temporal.

The rectal route is argued to be more reliable when oral temperature cannot be obtained.Oral temperature measurement is not performed in patients who have had oral surgery,trauma,history of epilepsy,or shaking chills.Axillary temperature measurement is affected by exposure to the environment,including time to place the thermometer;it also takes a long time.Temporal artery temperature is affected by skin moisture such as diaphoresis or sweating.