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1-71 vital terms.!
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Vital signs | provide information about the basic body conditions of the patient. |
| temperature | A measurement of the balance between heat loss and heat produced by the body. |
| pulse | The pressure of the blood felt against the wall of an artery as the heart contracts and relaxes, or beats. |
| rate | refers to the number of beats per minutes. |
| rhythm | Refers to regularity. |
| Volume | Refers to strength. |
| Respiration | Reflect the breathing rate of the patient. |
| blood pressure | The force exerted by the blood against the arterial walls when the heart contracts or relaxes. |
| Apical pulse | This is taken with a stethoscope at the apex of the heart. |
| Homeostasis | the ideal health state in the human body. constant state of fluid balance. |
| oral | temperatures are taken in the mouth. normal temp-97.6F |
| Rectal | temperatures are taken in the rectum. normal temp-98.6F |
| Axillary | temperatures are taken in the armpit, under the arm. |
| hyperthermia | Occurs when the body temperature exceeds 104F measured rectally. |
| hypothermia | A low body temperature, below 95F measured rectally. |
| fever | An elevated body temperature. |
| pyrexia | Another term for a fever. |
| febrile | pertaining to a fever. |
| afebrile | without a fever. |
| clinical thermometer | a glass thermometer that has mercury like substance that is expands to heat |
| electronic thermometer | registers the temperature in a few seconds on a screen on the machine |
| tympanic thermometer | register the temperature in the ear |
| Character (respiratory) | the depth and quality of respirations. |
| dyspnea | difficult or labored breathing. |
| apnea | absence of respirations, usually temporary. |
| Tachypnea | respiratory rate above 25 respirations per minute. |
| bradypnea | slow respiratory rate, usually below 10 respirations per minute. |
| orthopnea | sever dyspnea in which breathing is very difficult. |
| Cheyne-strokes | respirations-periods of dyspnea followed by periods of apnea. |
| Rales | bubbling or noisy sound caused by fluid or mucus in the air passages. |
| wheezing | difficult breathing with a high-pitched whistling or sighing sound during expiration. |
| cyanosis | bluish color of the skin, nail beds, and/or lips due to an insufficient amount of oxygen in the blood. |
| stethoscope | instrument used for listening to internal body sounds. |
| pulse deficit | the difference between the rate of an apical pulse and the rate of a radial pulse. |
| arrhythmia | irregular or abnormal rhythm, usually referring to the heart rhythm. |
| sphygmomanometer | instrument calibrated for measuring blood pressure in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). |
| systolic | measurement of blood pressure taken when the heart is contracting and forcing blood into the arteries. |
| diastolic | measurement of blood pressure taken when the heart is at rest; measurement of the constant pressure in arteries. |
| pulse pressure | the difference between systolic and diastolic pressure |
| hypertension | high blood pressure |
| hypotension | low blood pressure |
| mm Hg | millimeters Mercury |
| BP | blood pressure |
| TPR | temperature, pulse, respiration |
| F | Fahrenheit |
| C | Celsius |
| Ax | axillary |
| T | temperature |
| VS | vital signs |
| temporal | pertains to the forehead. |
| carotid | |
| brachial | pertaining to the brachial artery in the arm. |
| radial | pertaining to the radial artery in the wrist. |
| apical | pertaining to being near the apex of the heart. |
| femoral | |
| popliteal | pertaining to the back of the knee. |
| dorsalis pedis | pertaining to the feet. |
| orthostatic (BP) | abnormally low blood pressure. |
| Adult(P) | 60 to 90 BPM. |
| child over age 7 (P) | 70 to 90 BPM. |
| child 1-7 years old (P) | 80 to 110 BPM. |
| infants(P) | 100 to 160 BPM. |
| Adults (R) | 12 to 20 RPM. |
| child (R) | 30 to 17 RPM. |
| infant (R) | 35 RPM. |
| normal systolic reading | less than 120 mmHg |
| normal diastolic reading | less than 80 mmHg |
| oral (T) | 97.6-99.6 F |
| rectal (T) | 98.6-100.6 F |
| axillary/groin | 96.6-98.6 F |