Clinical Skills

Question 1

Abrasion

Answer 1

1. the wearing away of a substance or structure, such as the skin or teeth, through some unusual or abnormal process. 2. a wound caused by rubbing or scraping the skin or a mucous membrane; a “skinned knee” and a “floor burn” are common examples. To treat the injury, the wound should be washed, a mild antiseptic or antibiotic ointment applied, and the wound covered with sterile gauze.

Question 2

Abscess

Answer 2

An abscess is an enclosed collection of liquefied tissue, known as pus, somewhere in the body. It is the result of the body’s defensive reaction to foreign material.

There are two types of abscesses, septic and sterile. Most abscesses are septic, which means that they are the result of an infection. Septic abscesses can occur anywhere in the body. Only a germ and the body’s immune response are required. In response to the invading germ, white blood cells gather at the infected site and begin producing chemicals called enzymes that attack the germ by digesting it. These enzymes act like acid, killing the germs and breaking them down into small pieces that can be picked up by the circulation and eliminated from the body. Unfortunately, these chemicals also digest body tissues. In most cases, the germ produces similar chemicals. The result is a thick, yellow liquid—pus—containing digested germs, digested tissue, white blood cells, and enzymes.

An abscess is the last stage of a tissue infection that begins with a process called inflammation. Initially, as the invading germ activates the body’s immune system, several events occur:
Blood flow to the area increases.
The temperature of the area increases due to the increased blood supply.
The area swells due to the accumulation of water, blood, and other liquids.
It turns red.
It hurts, because of the irritation from the swelling and the chemical activity.
These four signs—heat, swelling, redness, and pain—characterize inflammation.
As the process progresses, the tissue begins to turn to liquid, and an abscess forms. It is the nature of an abscess to spread as the chemical digestion liquefies more and more tissue. Furthermore, the spreading follows the path of least resistance—the tissues most easily digested. A good example is an abscess just beneath the skin. It most easily continues along beneath the skin rather than working its way through the skin where it could drain its toxic contents. The contents of the abscess also leak into the general circulation and produce symptoms just like any other infection. These include chills, fever, aching, and general discomfort.

Sterile abscesses are sometimes a milder form of the same process caused not by germs but by nonliving irritants such as drugs. If an injected drug like penicillin is not absorbed, it stays where it was injected and may cause enough irritation to generate a sterile abscess—sterile because there is no infection involved. Sterile abscesses are quite likely to turn into hard, solid lumps as they scar, rather than remaining pockets of pus.

Question 3

Absorbable suture

Answer 3

absorbed by the body during the healing process

Question 4

Approximation

Answer 4

In surgery, bringing tissue edges into desired apposition, or into proximity for suturing.

Question 5

apposition

Answer 5

1. the placement or position of adjacent structures or parts so that they can come into contact.
2. a) The placing in contact of two substances or structures. b) The condition of being placed or fitted together. c) The relationship of fracture fragments to one another. d) The process of thickening of the cell wall.

Question 6

Bandage

Answer 6

1. a strip or roll of gauze or other material for wrapping or binding any part of the body.
2. to cover by wrapping with such material. Bandages may be used to stop the flow of blood, absorb drainage, cushion the injured area, provide a safeguard against contamination, hold a medicated dressing in place, hold a splint in position, or otherwise immobilize an injured part of the body to prevent further injury and to facilitate healing.

Question 7

Biopsy

Answer 7

Living tissue is removed from the body and viewed under a microscope. The suffix -opsy means process of viewing.

Question 8

Capillary action

Answer 8

The spontaneous movement of a liquid up thin tubes, due to adhesive and cohesive forces and surface tension.

Question 9

Colposcopy

Answer 9

Visual examination of the vagina and cervix using a colposcope.

Question 10

Contaminate

Answer 10

Introduction of pathogens or infectious material into or on clean or sterile surfaces.

Question 11

Contusion

Answer 11

bruising of tissue as a result of trauma

Question 12

Cryosurgery

Answer 12

Use of cold temperatures to destroy tissue.

Question 13

Fibroblast

Answer 13

an immature fiber-producing cell of connective tissue capable of differentiating into chondroblast, collagenoblast, or osteoblast.

Question 14

Forceps

Answer 14

a two-bladed instrument with a handle, used for compressing or grasping tissues in surgical operations, handling sterile dressings, and other purposes.

Question 15

Furuncle

Answer 15

a painful nodule formed in the skin by circumscribed inflammation of the dermis and subcutaneous tissue, enclosing a central slough or “core.” Called also boil. Most boils and carbuncles are caused by Staphylococcus aureus. When these bacteria gain entrance to the skin, the infection settles in the hair follicles or the sebaceous glands.

Question 16

Hemostasis

Answer 16

Blood flow is stopped naturally by clotting or artificially by compression or suturing of a wound.

Question 17

Incision

Answer 17

1. a cut or a wound made by a sharp instrument. 2. the act of cutting. 3. cut from glass, knife, etc.

Question 18

Infection

Answer 18

1. Invasion of the body with organisms that have the potential to cause disease.
2. the invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms that reproduce and multiply, causing disease by local cellular injury, secretion of a toxin, or antigen-antibody reaction in the host.

Question 19

Inflammation

Answer 19

a localized protective response elicited by injury or destruction of tissues, which serves to destroy, dilute, or wall off both the injurious agent and the injured tissue. The classical signs of acute inflammation are pain, heat, redness, swelling, and loss of function., adj. inflam´matory.

Question 20

Laceration

Answer 20

1. A torn or jagged wound, or an accidental cut wound.

2. The process or act of tearing the tissues.

Question 21

Non-absorbable suture

Answer 21

Any suture material—certain silks, synthetics (e.g., polypropylene, polyester or nylon), or wires (for approximating bone in orthopaedics)—which is left in place and subsequently removed. Non-absorbable sutures are used when a mechanical condition (e.g., in the heart, which is in constant motion) or chemical exposure (e.g, in the urinary bladder, which is filled with urine), requires closure material that is more robust than absorbable suture material. Further advantages of non-absorbable suture material include less scarring and a relatively banal immune response.

Question 22

Puncture

Answer 22

1. To make a hole with a small pointed object, such as a needle. 2. A prick or small hole made with a pointed instrument.

Question 23

Sterile (asepsis)

Answer 23

free of living microorganisms.

Question 24

Surgery

Answer 24

the branch of health science that treats diseases, injuries, and deformities by manual or operative methods.

Question 25

Surgical asepsis

Answer 25

the exclusion of all microorganisms before they can enter an open surgical wound or contaminate a sterile field during surgery. Measures taken include sterilization of all instruments, drapes, and all other inanimate objects that may come in contact with the surgical wound. All personnel coming in contact with the sterile field perform a surgical hand scrub with an antimicrobial agent and put on a surgical gown and gloves.

Question 26

Wound

Answer 26

an injury or damage, usually restricted to those caused by physical means with disruption of normal continuity of structures. Called also injury and trauma.