Question | Answer |
Vital signs | various determinations that provide info about the basic body conditions of the patient. |
Temperature | measurement of the balance between heat lost and heat produced by the body. |
Pulse | pressure of the blood felt against the wall of an artery as the heart contracts and relaxes, or beats |
Rate | number of beats per minute |
Rhythm | regularity |
Volume | Strength |
Respiration | breathing rate of the patient |
Blood pressure | force exerted by the blood against the arterial walls when the heart contracts or relaxes |
Homeostasis | ideal health state in the human body |
Oral temperature | taken in the mouth (keep in place for 3-5 minutes) |
Rectal temperature | taken in the rectum (keep in place for 3-5 minutes) |
Axillary Temperature | In the armpit, under the upper arm (keep in place for 10 minutes) |
Aural Temperature | taken with a special tympanic thermometer that is placed in the ear or auditory canal (2 seconds) |
Temporal Temperature | temperature of temporal artery to provide an accurate measurement of blood temperature |
Hypothermia | low body temperature, below 95 degrees F. measured rectally |
Fever | elevated body temperature, usually above 101 degrees F. measured rectally |
Pyrexia | Another term for fever |
Hyperthermia | occurs when the body temperature exceeds 104 degrees F. measured rectally |
Clinical Thermometer | slender glass tube containing mercury of alcohol with red dye, which expands when exposed to heat |
Electronic thermometer | registers the temperature on a viewer in a few seconds |
Tympanic thermometer | specialized electronic thermometer that record the aural temperature in the ear |
Temporal scanning thermometer | specialized electronic thermometers that measure temperature in the temporal artery of the forehead |
Rate (respiration) | of respiration counts the number of breaths per minute |
Character | the depth and quality of respiration |
Dyspnea | deifficult of labored breathing |
Apnea | absence of respiration, usually a temporary period of no respiration |
Tachypnea | rapid, shallow respiratory rate above 25 respiration's per minute |
Bradypnea | slow respiratory rate, usually below 10 respiration's per minute |
Orthopnea | severe dyspnea is which breathing in very difficult in any position other than sitting erect or standing |
Cheyne-stokes | abnormal breathing pattern characterized by periods of dyspnea followed by periods of apnea; frequently noted in the dying patient |
Rales | bubbling or noisy sounds caused by fluids or mucus in the air passages |
Wheezing | difficult breathing with a high pitched whistling or sighing sounds during expiration; caused by a narrowing of bronchioles and/or an obstruction or mucus accumulation in the bronchi |
Cyanosis | dusky, blush discoloration of the skin, lips, and/or nail beds as a result of decreased oxygen and increased carbon dioxide in the bloodstream |
Apical pulse | pulse count taken with a stethoscope at the apex of the heart |
Stethoscope | instrument used to listen to internal body sounds |
Pulse deficit | condition that occurs with some heart conditions |
Blood pressure | measurement of the pressure that the blood exerts on the walls of the arteries during various stages of heart activities |
Systolic | pressure occurs in the walls of the arteries when the left ventricle of the heart is contracting and pushing blood into the arteries |
Pulse pressure | difference between systolic and diastolic pressure |
hypertension | high blood pressure |
hypotension | low blood pressure |
sphygmomanometer | instrument used to measure blood pressure in the millimeters of mercury |
bradycardia | pulse rate under 60 beats per minute |
tachycardia | pulse rate over 100 beats per minute (except in children) |
arrhythmia | irregular of abnormal rhyth, usually caused by a defect in the electrical conduction pattern of the heart |