Term | Definition |
Abrasion | scrape of the skin due to something abrasive |
Acute | new, usually of rapid onset and of concern, opposite of chronic |
Ambulate | to walk from place to place |
Anterior | located towards the front of the body |
Artery | blood vessel carrying blood away from the heart |
Ausculate | listening with a stethoscope |
Benign | normal, of no danger to health |
Bony Tenderness | Pain elicited by pressing on a bone, rather than a soft tissue |
Bradycardia | slow heart-rate (HR less than 60bpm) |
Cardiomegaly | enlarged heart |
Cholecystitis | inflammation of the cholecyst (gallbladder) |
Chronic | long-standing, constant. opposite of acute |
COPD | Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; lung disease commonly seen in smokers |
Coronary artery | the artery that supplies heart tissue with blood |
Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) | aka "stroke". lack of blood supply to the brain causing brain damage |
Diaphoresis | sweating |
Diffuse | everywhere. opposite of "focal" |
Distal | farther from the trunk of the body |
Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) | a blood clot in a deep vein, most often an extremity |
Dyspnea | problems with breathing |
Dysuria | painful urination |
Ecchymosis | a bruise |
Edema | swelling |
Emesis | vomiting |
Epistaxis | nose bleed |
Erythema/Erythematous | redness/red |
Febrile | Elevated body temperature, fever, indicative infection |
Focal | localized to one specific area. opposite of diffuse |
Grossly | obviously. a lot; wholly |
Hematemesis | very large amounts of blood in the vomit |
Hematuria | very large amounts of blood in the urine |
Hemoptysis | coughing up very large amounts of blood |
Hemorrhage | excessive or profuse bleeding |
Hepatomegaly | enlarged liver |
Hypertension | high blood pressure |
Hypotension | low blood pressure |
Hypoxia | low oxygen saturation of the body, not enough oxygen in the blood |
Incontinence | accidentally passig urine (urinary incontinence) or stool (bowel incontinence) |
Infarct | area of dark tissue after a lack of blood supply |
Inferior | lower on the body, farther from the head |
Ischemia | lack of blood supply |
Laceration | splitting of the skin due to trauma (a cut due to something sharp) |
Lateral | farther from the midline (a line that can be traced from the nose to belly-botton) |
Medial | nearer to the midline |
Melena | black tarry stool |
Myocardial Infarction (MI) | death of cardiac muscle due to ischemia |
Myalgia | muscular pain, "muscle aches" |
Oriented x3 | oriented to person, place, or time |
Pallor | pale skin |
Palpate | using a hand to press on an area, e/g. palpating the abdomen |
Palpitations | feeling a heart-racing, pounding, or fluttering sensation in the chest |
Point tenderness | When pressing on an area with one finger generates pain |
Posterior/Dorsal | rear or backside of the body |
Proximal | nearer to the trunk of the body |
Pruritic | itchy |
Pulmonary Embolism (PE) | blocking of a pulmonary artery due to a blood clot |
Purulent | pus-like |
Rales | crackles; wet crackling noise in lungs |
Rhinorrhea | clear nasal discharge, "runny nose" |
Rhonchi | rattling noise of mucous in the lungs |
Sepsis | dangerous infection of the blood |
Soft Tissue Tenderness | tenderness of a soft tissue; muscle, skin, fat. Opposite of bony tenderness |
STEMI | ST elevation MI, real-time ongoing death of heart tissue due to ischemia |
Superior | higher on the body, nearer to the head |
Supine | body position lying face |
Syncope | "passing out", loss of consciousness or fainting |
Tachycardia | fast heart rate (HR greater than 100bpm) |
Tenderness | Physician's assessment if an area is painful (tender) or not (non-tender) |
Transient Ischemia Attack (TIA) | minor stroke; where neurological function is regained quickly with time |
Vein | blood vessel carrying blood towards the heart |
Vertigo | condition of dizziness, "room spinning" |
Wheezing | high pitched sound heard in the lungs with asthmatics or lung disease |
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