Ch. 10 Patient Assessment - Vocabulary Flashcards
Accessory muscles
The secondary muscles of respiration. They include neck (sternocleidomastoids) muscles, the chest (pectoralis major) muscles, and the abdominal muscles.
Altered mental status
A change in the way a person thinks and behaves that may signal disease in the central nervous system or elsewhere in the body.
Auscultate
To listen to sounds within an organ with a stethoscope.
AVPU scale
A method of assessing the level of consciousness by determining whether the patient awake and alert, responsive to verbal or painful stimuli, or unresponsive; used principally early in the assessment process.
A - alert
V - verbal
P - painful
U - unresponsive
Blood pressure
The pressure that the blood exerts against the walls of the arteries as it passes through them.
Bradycardia
A slow heart rate, less than 60 beats/min in an adult.
Breath sounds
An indication of air movement in the lungs, usually assessed with a stethoscope.
Capillary refill
A test that evaluates distal circulatory system function by squeezing (blanching) blood from an area such as a nail bed and watching the speed of its return after releasing the pressure.
Capnography
A non invasive method to quickly and efficiently provide information on a patient’s ventilatory status, circulation, and metabolism; effectively measures the concentration of carbon dioxide in expired air over time.
Carbon dioxide
A component of air that typically makes up 0.03% of air at sea level; also a waste product exhaled during expiration by the respiratory system.
Chief complaint
The reason a patient called for help; also, the patient’s response to questions such as “What’s wrong?” or “What happened?”
Conjunctiva
The delicate membrane that lines the eyelids and covers the exposed surface of the eye.
Crackles
A crackling, rattling breath sound that signals fluid in the air spaces of the lungs.
Crepitus
A grating or grinding sensation caused by fractured bone ends or joints rubbing together.
Cyanosis
A blue skin discoloration that is caused by a reduced level of oxygen in the blood.
DCAP-BTLS
A mnemonic for assessment in which each area of the body is evaluated for:
Deformities Contusions Abrasions Punctures/Penetrations Burns Tenderness Lacerations Swelling
Diaphoretic
Characterized by light or profuse sweating.
Diastolic pressure
The pressure that remains in the arteries during the relaxing phase of the heart’s cycle (diastole) when the left ventricle is at rest.
Distracting injury
Any injury that prevents the patient from noticing other injuries he or she may have, even severe injuries; for example, a painful femur or tibia fracture that prevents the patient from noticing back pain associated with a spinal fracture.
Field impression
The conclusion about the cause of the patient’s condition after considering the situation, history, and examination findings.
Focused assessment
A type of physical assessment typically performed on patients who have sustained non significant mechanisms of injury or on responsive medical patients. This type of examination is based on the chief complaint and focuses on one body system or part.
Frostbite
Damage to tissues as the result of exposure to cold; frozen or partially frozen body parts are frostbitten.
General impression
The overall initial impression that determines the priority for patient care; based on the patients surroundings, the mechanism of injury, signs and symptoms, and the chief complaint.
Golden Hour
The time from injury to definitive care, during which treatmnt of shock and traumatic injuriesshould occur because survival potential is best; also called the Golden Period
Guarding
Involuntary muscle contractions (spasm) of the abdominal wall; an effort to protect the inflamed abdomen.
History taking
A step within the patient assessment process that provides detial about the patient’s chief complaintand an account of the patieent’s signs and symptoms.
Hypertension
Blood pressure that is higher than the normal range.
Hypotension
Blood pressure that is lower than the normal range.
Hypothermia
A condition in which the internal body temperature falls below 95°F (35°C).