CH. 38 ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCIES

Question 1

a condition in which lung tissue is damaged, characterized by hypoxemia, low lung volume, and pulmonary edema

Answer 1

acute lung injury

Question 2

an altitude illness characterized by headache plus at least one of the following: fatigue, GI symptoms, dizziness, difficulty sleeping

Answer 2

acute mountain sickness (AMS)

Question 3

continued fall in core temperature after a victim of hypothermia has been removed from a cold environment due to at least in part to the return of cold blood from the body surface to the body core

Answer 3

afterdrop

Question 4

conditions caused by the effects from hypobaric (low atmosphere pressure) hypoxia on the CNS and pulmonary systems as a result of unacclimatized people ascending to altitude; range from acute mountain sickness (AMS) to high altitude cerebral edema (HACE) and high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE)

Answer 4

altitude illness

Question 5

the resultant gaseous emboli from the forcing of gas into the vasculature from barotrauma

Answer 5

arterial gas embolism

Question 6

inability to coordinate the muscles properly; often used to describe a staggering gait

Answer 6

ataxia

Question 7

a measurement of ambient pressure; the weight of air at sea level, equivalent on pressure to 33 feet of seawater

Answer 7

atmosphere absolute (ATA)

Question 8

injury resulting form pressure disequilibrium across body surfaces

Answer 8

barotrauma

Question 9

the heat energy produced at rest form normal body metabolic reactions determined mostly by the liver and skeletal muscles

Answer 9

basal metabolic rate

Question 10

at constant temperature, pressure is inversely proportional to volume

Answer 10

boyles law

Question 11

this type of diving does not require equipment

Answer 11

breath hold diving

Question 12

itchy reddish and purple swollen lesions that occur primarily on the extremities, due to exposure to temperatures just above freezing

Answer 12

chillblains

Question 13

passive heatstroke considered a serious heat illness that usually occur during heat waves and is most likely to strike very old, very young, or bedridden people

Answer 13

classic heatstroke

Question 14

secretion of large amounts of urine in response to cold exposure and shunting of blood volume to the body core

Answer 14

cold diuresis

Question 15

transfer of heat to a solid object or a liquid by direct contact

Answer 15

conduction

Question 16

mechanism by which body heat is picked up and carried away by moving air currents

Answer 16

convection

Question 17

the temperature in the part of the body comprising the heart, lung, brain, and abdominal viscera

Answer 17

core body temperature (CBT)

Question 18

each gas in a mixture exerts the same partial pressure that it would exert if it were alone in the same volume, and the total pressure of a mixture of gases is the sum of the partial pressures of all the gases in a mixture

Answer 18

dalton’s law

Question 19

a term for decompression sickness and air gas embolism

Answer 19

decompression illness

Question 20

a broad range of signs and symptoms caused by nitrogen bubbles in blood and tissues coming out of solution on ascent

Answer 20

decompression sickness

Question 21

a type of frostbite in which the affected part looks white, yellow-white, or mottled blue white and is hard cold and without sensation

Answer 21

deep frostbite

Question 22

the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion or immersion in liquid

Answer 22

drowning

Question 23

the injecting of venom via a bite or sting

Answer 23

envenomation

Question 24

medical conditions caused or exacerbated by the weather, terrain, or unique atmospheric conditions such as high altitude or underwater

Answer 24

environmental emergencies

Question 25

the conversion of a liquid to a gas

Answer 25

evaporation

Question 26

a condition due to a prolonged exertion in hot environments coupled with excessive hypotonic fluid intake that leads to nausea, vomiting, and in severe cases, mental status changes and seizures

Answer 26

exercise associated hyponatremia

Question 27

a serious type of heat stroke usually affecting young and fit people exercising in hot and humid conditions

Answer 27

exertional heatstroke

Question 28

an indirect measure of pressure under water, equal to one atmosphere absolute (ATA)

Answer 28

feet of seawater (FSW)

Question 29

localized damage to tissues resulting from prolonged exposure to extreme cold

Answer 29

frostbite

Question 30

early frostbite, characterized by numbness and pallor w/o significant tissue damage

Answer 30

frostnip

Question 31

permanent cell death

Answer 31

gangrene

Question 32

acue and involuntary muscle pains, usually in lower extremities, the abdomen, or both, that occur because of profuse sweating and subsequent sodium losses in sweat

Answer 32

heat cramps

Question 33

a clinical syndrome characterized by volume depletion and heat stress that is thought to be a milder form of heat illness and on a continuum leading to a heatstroke

Answer 33

heat exhaustion

Question 34

the increase in core body temperature due to inadequate thermolysis

Answer 34

heat illness

Question 35

the least common and most deadly heat illness, severe disturbance in thermoregulation with core temperature of more than 104 F and altered mental status

Answer 35

heatstroke

Question 36

an orthostatic or near syncopal episode that typically occurs in non acclimated people who may be under heat stress

Answer 36

heat syncope

Question 37

the amount of gas dissolved in a liquid directly proportional to the partial pressure of the gas above the liquid

Answer 37

henry’s law

Question 38

an altitude illness in which there is a change in mental status and or ataxia in a person with acute mountain sickness or the presence of mental status changes and ataxia in a person without acute mountain sickness

Answer 38

high altitude cerebral edema (HACE)

Question 39

an altitude illness characterized by at least two of the following: dyspnea at rest, cough, weakness or decreased exercise performance, or chest tightness or congestion. Also, at least two of the following signs: central cyanosis, audible rales or wheezing in at least one lung field, tachypnea or tachycardia

Answer 39

high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE)

Question 40

body processes that balance the supply and demand of the body’s needs

Answer 40

homeostasis

Question 41

unusually elevated body temperature

Answer 41

hyperthermia