1) Key Terms Flashcards
1
Q
What is afebrile?
A
- Without fever
- Normal body temperature
2
Q
What are antipyretics?
A
- Medications that reduce fever
3
Q
What is an auscultatory gap?
A
- Momentary silence between systolic and diastolic sounds when taking blood pressure
4
Q
What is basal metabolic rate (BMR)?
A
- Minimum energy required for basic body functions at rest
5
Q
What is blood pressure?
A
- Force exerted by circulating blood on walls of blood vessels
6
Q
What is bradycardia?
A
- Slow heart rate, below normal range
7
Q
What is cardiac output?
A
- Amount of blood pumped by the heart per minute
8
Q
What is Celsius?
A
- Temperature scale where water freezes at 0°C and boils at 100°C
9
Q
What is conduction?
A
- Transfer of heat between objects by direct contact
10
Q
What is convection?
A
- Transfer of heat by movement of a liquid or gas
11
Q
What is core temperature?
A
- Temperature of the body’s internal organs
12
Q
What is diaphoresis?
A
- Profuse sweating
13
Q
What is diastolic blood pressure?
A
- Blood pressure between heartbeats when heart is relaxing
14
Q
What is diffusion?
A
- Spread of particles from high to low concentration
15
Q
What is a dysrhythmia?
A
- Abnormal heart rhythm
16
Q
What is eupnea?
A
- Normal relaxed breathing
17
Q
What is evaporation?
A
- Vaporization of a liquid to a gas
18
Q
What does febrile mean?
A
- Having a fever
19
Q
What is a fever?
A
- Elevated body temperature above normal range
20
Q
What is a fever of unknown origin?
A
- Fever with no identified cause after investigation
21
Q
What is frostbite?
A
- Freezing of body tissues from exposure to extreme cold
22
Q
What is heat exhaustion?
A
- Condition caused by exposure to high temperatures and dehydration
23
Q
What is heatstroke?
A
- Life-threatening failure of thermoregulation from extreme heat
24
Q
What is hematocrit?
A
- Percentage of red blood cells in total blood volume
25
What is hypertension?
- Abnormally high blood pressure
26
What is hyperthermia?
- Elevated body temperature above normal range
27
What is hypotension?
- Abnormally low blood pressure
28
What is the hypothalamus?
- Part of brain that regulates body temperature
29
What is hypothermia?
- Abnormally low body temperature
30
What is hypoxemia?
- Low oxygen levels in the blood
31
What is malignant hyperthermia?
- Rare but potentially fatal adverse reaction to general anesthesia
- Characterized by rapid rise in body temperature, muscle rigidity, etc.
- Treated with dantrolene and supportive care
32
What is masked hypertension?
- High blood pressure only present outside of clinical setting
- Normal readings in doctor's office but elevated at home
33
What is nonshivering thermogenesis?
- Production of body heat without shivering
- Occurs through metabolism of brown fat
34
What is orthostatic hypotension?
- Sudden drop in blood pressure upon standing up
- Due to blood pooling in lower extremities
35
What is perfusion?
- Passage of blood through capillary beds to supply tissues
36
What is postural hypotension?
- Drop in blood pressure from change in body position
37
What is a pulse?
- Palpable rhythmic expansion of an artery from blood flow
38
What is a pulse deficit?
- When radial pulse rate is less than heart rate
- Indicates arrhythmia or blocked blood flow
39
What is a pulse oximeter?
- Device that measures oxygen saturation in blood
40
What is pulse pressure?
- Difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressures
41
What is pyrexia?
- Abnormally high body temperature/fever
42
What are pyrogens?
- Substances that cause fever by affecting hypothalamus
43
What is the radial pulse?
- Pulse felt at the radial artery in the wrist
44
What is radiation?
- Transfer of heat from a warm object to cooler surroundings
45
What is shivering?
- Involuntary muscle contractions to generate body heat
46
What is a sphygmomanometer?
- Device used to measure blood pressure
47
What is stroke volume?
- Amount of blood pumped from ventricle per beat
48
What is systolic blood pressure?
- Blood pressure during ventricular contraction
49
What is tachycardia?
- Abnormally rapid resting heart rate
50
What is thermoregulation?
- Process of maintaining normal body temperature
51
What is tidal volume?
- Amount of air inhaled/exhaled with each breath
52
What is ventilation?
- Process of inhaling and exhaling air
53
What are vital signs (VS)?
- Body measurements used to assess health status
- Include temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure
54
What is white coat hypertension?
- Elevated blood pressure only in clinical setting
- Normal at other times
55
What are the most frequent measurements obtained by healthcare providers?
- Temperature
- Pulse
- Blood pressure
- Respiratory rate
- Oxygen saturation
56
Why are these measurements referred to as vital signs?
- Temperature
- Pulse
- Blood pressure
- Respiratory rate
- Oxygen saturation
- They indicate the effectiveness of circulatory, respiratory, neural, and endocrine functions
- Their importance in assessing health status
57
What factors can cause vital signs to change?
- Environmental temperature
- Physical state
- Activities
- Illness
58
What is the "fifth vital sign"?
- Pain
- Its assessment influences other vital signs
- Necessary to include in baseline data
59
What do vital signs provide?
- Important data to determine usual state of health (baseline)
- Indication of physiological changes requiring intervention
60
How are vital signs measured?
- Inspection
- Palpation
- Auscultation
61
Why is careful measurement technique important?
- Ensures accurate and consistent vital sign findings
62
How are vital signs interconnected?
- Increase in temperature often increases respiratory rate and pulse
- Blood pressure and pulse often rise/fall together
63
What is an exception to blood pressure and pulse rising/falling together?
- In hypovolemic shock or severe infection, blood pressure falls as pulse increases
64
What is the basis for clinical problem solving?
- Vital signs and other physiological measurements
