Medical Assistant Skills Flashcards
Ayer blade
Wooden or plastic blade used scrape cells from the cervix of the uterus; used for Pap tests
Auscultation
Process of listening for sounds in the body
Bandage scissors
Special scissors with a blunt lower end used to remove dressings and bandages
Dorsal recumbent
Position where the patient lies flat on their back with their knees flexed and separated; vaginal & pelvic examination
Electrocardiogram
(ECG or EKG) graphic tracing of the electrical activity of the heart.
Fowlers position
When patient lies on their back with their head elevated at one of several different angles
Hemostats
Special group of curved or straight instruments, usually striated at the ends; used to clamp blood vessels to stop bleeding or graph tissue
Horizontal recumbent
Position where the patient lies flat on their back, face upward (supine position)
Hyperopia
Farsightedness; defect in near vision
Jackknife
Position where patient lies flat on the abdomen with both the head and legs inclined downward with the rectal area elevated
Knee-chest
Position where the patient rests his or her body weight on the knees and chest; used for sigmoidoscopic and rectal examinations
Laryngeal mirror
Instrument with a mirror, used to examine the larynx
Leads
Angles or views of the heart that is recorded in an electrocardiograph
Left lateral
Position (sim’s position) when the patient lies flat on their left side with the right leg bent up near the abdomen
Lithotomy
Position where the patient lies on back with their feet in stirrups and the knees flexed and separated
Medication
Drug used to treat a disease or condition
Myopia
Nearsightedness; defect in distant vision
Needle holder
Instrument used to hold or support a needle while sutures (stitches are being inserted
Observation
To look at, watch, perceive or notice
Ophthalmoscope
Instrument used to examine the eye
Otoscope
Instrument used to examine the ear
Palpating
Using hands to feel body parts during examination
Papanicolaou
(Pap test) to classify abnormal cells obtained from the vagina or cervix
Percussion
Process of tapping various body parts during examination
Percussion hammer
Instrument used to check reflexes
Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR)
Reference book that contains essential information on medications
Prone
Position when the patient lies flat on the abdomen, with the legs together and the face tuned to the side
Retractors
Instruments used to hold the lips or side of an wound or an incision
Scalpels
Instruments with a knife blade & used to make an incise (cut) skin and tissue
Sigmoidoscope
Instrument used to examine the sigmoid, or s-shaped, section of the large intestine
Sims’ position
When the patient lies on their left side with the right leg bent up near the abdomen.
Snellen charts
Special chart that uses letters or symbols in calibrated Heights to check for vision defects in distant vision
Speculum
Instrument used to dilate, or enlarge, an opening or passage in the body for examination purposes
Supine
Position where the patient lies flat on their back, face upward
Surgical scissors
Special scissors used to cut tissue
Sutures
Surgical stitches used to join edges of an incision, or wound; also the area where the bones join/fuse together
Suture-removal sets
Set of instruments (suture scissors and thumb forceps) to remove stitches/ sutures
Tissue forceps
Instrument with one or more fire points (teeth) at the tips of blades; used to grasp tissue
Tonometer
Instrument used to measure intraocular (within the eye) pressure
Trendelenburg position
When the patient lies on their back with their head lower than the feet, or with both the head & feet inclined downward
Tuning fork
Instrument that has two prongs and is used to test hearing activity
Estetoscopio
(Stethoscope) instrument used to listen to internal sounds in the body
