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prn101v
Vital signs
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Afebrile | absence of a fever |
| Apical pulse | a central pulse located at the apex of the heart |
| Apical-radial pulse | measurement of the apical beat and the radial pulse at the same time |
| Apnea | a complete absence of respirations |
| Arrhythmia | a pulse with an abnormal rhythm |
| Arterial blood pressure | the measure of the pressure exerted by the blood as it pulsates through the arteries |
| Arteriosclerosis | a condition in which the elastic and muscular tissues of the arteries are replaced with fibrous tissue |
| Auscultatory gap | the temporary disappearance of sounds normally heard over the brachial artery when the sphygmomanometer cuff pressure is high and the sounds reappear at a lower level |
| Basal metabolic rate (BMR) | the rate of energy utilization in the body required to maintain essential activities such as breathing |
| Body temperature | the balance between the heat produced by the body and the heat lost from the body |
| Bradycardia | abnormally slow pulse rate, less than 60 per minute |
| Bradypnea | abnormally slow respiratory rate, usually less than 10 respirations per minute |
| Chemical thermogenesis | the stimulation of heat production in the body through increased cellular metabolism caused by increases in thyroxine output |
| Conduction | the transfer of heat from one molecule to another in direct contact |
| Convection | the dispersion of heat by air currents |
| Core temperature | the temperature of the deep tissues of the body (e.g., thorax, abdominal cavity); relatively constant at 37°C (98.6°F) |
| Costal (thoracic) breathing | use of the external intercostal muscles and other accessory muscles, such as the sternocleidomastoid muscles |
| Diaphragmatic (abdominal) | breathing contraction and relaxation of the diaphragm, observed by the movement of the abdomen, which occurs as a result of the diaphragm's contraction and downward movement |
| Diastolic pressure | the pressure of the blood against the arterial walls when the ventricles of the heart are at rest |
| Dysrhythmia | a pulse with an irregular rhythm |
| Elasticity of the arterial wall | pliability or expansibility of the vessels |
| Eupnea | normal, quiet breathing |
| Exhalation (expiration) | the movement of gases from the lungs to the atmosphere |
| External respiration | the interchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the alveoli of the lungs and the pulmonary blood |
| Febrile | pertaining to a fever; feverish |
| Fever spike | a temperature that rises to fever level rapidly following a normal temperature and then returns to normal within a few hours |
| Heat balance | the state a person is in when the amount of heat produced by the body exactly equals the amount of heat lost |
| Hematocrit | the proportion of red blood cells (erythrocytes) to the total blood volume |
| Hypertension | an abnormally high blood pressure; over 140 mm Hg systolic and/or 90 mm Hg diastolic |
| Hyperthermia (Hyperpyrexia) | an extremely high body temperature (e.g., 41 degrees C [105.8 degrees F]) |
| Hyperventilation | very deep, rapid respirations |
| Hypotension | an abnormally low blood pressure; less than 100 mm Hg systolic in an adult |
| Hypothalamic integrator | the center in the brain that controls the core temperature; located in the preoptic area of the hypothalamus |
| Hypoventilation | very shallow respirations |
| Inhalation | the act of breathing in; the intake of air or other substances into the lungs |
| Insensible water loss | continuous and unnoticed water loss |
| Intermittent fever | a body temperature that alternates at regular intervals between periods of fever and periods of normal or subnormal temperatures |
| Internal respiration | the interchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the circulating blood and the cells of the body tissues |
| Korotkoff's sounds | a series of five sounds produced by blood within the artery with each ventricular contraction |
| Meniscus | the crescent-shaped upper surface of a column of fluid |
| Orthostatic hypotension | decrease in blood pressure related to positional or postural changes from lying to sitting or standing positions |
| Peripheral pulse | a pulse located in the periphery of the body (eg, foot, wrist) |
| Point of maximal impulse | (PMI) the point where the apex of the heart touches the anterior chest wall |
| Polypnea | abnormally fast respirations |
| Pulse | the wave of blood within an artery that is created by contraction of the left ventricle of the heart |
| Pulse deficit | the difference between the apical pulse and the radial pulse |
| Pulse oximeter | a noninvasive device that measures the arterial blood oxygen saturation by means of a sensor attached to the finger |
| Pulse pressure | the difference between the systolic and the diastolic blood pressure |
| Pulse rhythm | the pattern of the beats and intervals between the beats |
| Pulse volume | the strength or amplitude of the pulse, the force of blood exerted with each heart beat |
| Pyrexia | a body temperature above the normal range, fever |
| Radiation | the transfer of heat from the surface of one object to the surface of another without contact between the two objects |
| Relapsing fever | the occurrence short febrile periods of a few days interspersed with periods of 1 or 2 days of normal temperature |
| Remittent fever | the occurrence of a wide range of temperature fluctuations (more than 2 degrees C [3.6 degrees F]) over the 24-hour period, all of which are above normal |
| Respiration | the act of breathing; transport of oxygen from the atmosphere to the body cells and transport of carbon dioxide from the cells to the atmosphere |
| Respiratory quality | refers to those aspects of breathing that are different from normal, effortless breathing, includes the amount of effort exerted to breathe and the sounds produced by breathing |
| Respiratory rhythm | refers to the regularity of the expirations and the inspirations |
| Surface temperature | the temperature of the skin, the subcutaneous |
| Systolic pressure | the pressure of the blood against the arterial walls when the ventricles of the heart contract |
| Tachycardia | an abnormally rapid pulse rate, greater than 100 beats per minute |
| Tachypnea | abnormally fast respirations, usually more than 24 respirations per minute |
| Tidal volume | the volume of air that is normally inhaled and exhaled |
| Vaporization | continuous evaporation of moisture from the respiratory tract and from the mucosa of the mouth and from the skin |
| Ventilation | the movement of air in and out of the lungs; the process of inhalation and exhalation |
| Viscous | thick, sticky |
| Vital signs | measurements of physiological functioning, specifically body temperature, pulse, respirations, and blood pressure; may include pain and pulse oximetry |
Created by:
jmeo04
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