Chapter 11 Patient Assessment: Vital Vocabulary Flashcards
Abnormal breath sounds, such as wheezing, rhonchi, crackles, stridor, and pleural friction rubs.
adventitious breath sounds
A determination made when assessing mental status by looking at whether the patient is oriented in four areas: person, place, time, and the event itself. Each element provides information about different aspects of the patient’s memory.
alert and oriented (A x O)
Unequal pupils with a greater than 1-mm difference.
anisocoria
The language impairment that affects the production or understanding of speech and the ability to read or write.
aphasia
An episode characterized by some combination of apnea (central or obstructive), color change (cyanotic, pallid, erythematous, or plethoric) change in muscle tone (usually diminished), and choking or gagging.
apparent life-threatening event (ALTE)
Abnormal accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity; typically signals liver failure.
ascites
The entry of fluids or solids into the trachea, bronchi, and lungs; the act of drawing material in or out by suction.
aspiration
The act of using a stethoscope to listen to sounds within the body.
auscultation
A method of assessing mental status by determining whether a patient is Awake and alert, responsive to Verbal stimuli or Pain, or Unresponsive; used principally in the primary survey.
AVPU
Bruising over the mastoid process, which may indicate a basilar skull fracture; also known as retroauricular ecchymosis or raccoon eyes.
Battle sign
The combination of a narrowed pulse pressure, muffled heart tones, and jugular venous distention associated with cardiac tamponade; usually caused by penetrating chest trauma.
Beck triad
The measurement of the force exerted against the walls of the blood vessels as the heart contracts and relaxes; it is calculated as the product of cardiac output and peripheral vascular resistance.
blood pressure (BP)
Hollow, tubular, lower-pitched sounds heard over the trachea.
bronchial sounds
A test of decreased breath sounds performed by placing the diaphragm of the stethoscope over the area in question while the patient says “ninety-nine;” a loud, clear sound indicates lung consolidation.
bronchophony
A combination of the tracheal and vesicular breath sounds; heard where airways and alveoli are found, in the upper part of the sternum and between the scapulae.
bronchovesicular sounds
An abnormal whooshing sound of turbulent blood flow moving through a narrowed artery; usually heard in the carotid arteries.
bruit
The use of a noninvasive diagnostic tool that can quickly and efficiently provide information on a patient’s ventilatory and circulatory status with a graphic and digital depiction similar to an electrocardiogram.
capnography
The use of a capnometer, which is a monitoring device used to measure the amount of expired carbon dioxide. The reading is usually given as a digital reading.
capnometry
Ear wax
cerumen
The reason the patient is seeking help.
chief complaint
Wet rattling, bubbling, or crackling lung sounds indicative of fluid in the small airways; also known as rales.
crackles
A crackling, grating, or grinding sound often heard when fragments of broken bones rub together.
crepitus
A composite picture of a number of factors in a patient’s life, such as dietary habits, current medications, allergies, exercise, alcohol or tobacco use, recreational drug use, sleep patterns and disorders, and immunizations.
current health status
The combination of a slowing pulse, rising blood pressure, and an erratic respiratory pattern; a grave sign for patients with head trauma or cerebrovascular accident.
Cushing reflex
