Unit 8: Review Flashcards
Dr. Miller is taking his patient’s pulse on their bare foot by feeling the groove between the first and second toe and gently palpating up towards the leg until she feels the pulse. What is this pulse in the foot referred to as?
Dorsal pulse, pedal
What term refers to the measurements of essential body functions?
vital signs
What is it called when you measure how much oxygen is in the blood?
Oxygen saturation
Vital signs are what ____ the matter that makes up our bodies, turning us into living beings.
animate
Janie is home sick from school today because she is suffering from pyrexia, which is also known as:
a fever
The origin of the word vital is in the Latin word vita, meaning:
life
A fever of ___ degrees or above can cause cell damage, seizures, and delirium and requires intervention.
101
Other assessments that may be considered along with the four or five main ones are:
pain levels,smoking status, and emotional distress
When the body can’t promote heat loss fast enough to offset heat production or outside environmental heat, what is the result?
The body becomes too hot or cold to function
Severe hypothermia occurs when the body temperature drops to or below what temperature?
89.6 F
What is the MOST common way to take a person’s temperature?
Thermometer
Julia’s son hates having his temperature taken orally, so Julia takes his temperature in his ear, otherwise known as:
tympanic temperature
What signals that a thermometer is for rectal, not oral, use?
Rectal is red, oral is blue
thermometers are designed to detect heat in the form of infrared energy that the body gives off and may be designed for temporal or tympanic use.
Electronic Infrared
A reading taken by scanning the forehead and temple area of the head is called:
temporal temperature
What kind of thermometers consist of a thin plastic strip or tape and change colors at different temperatures?
Disposable chemical thermometers
If the thermometer that you use is not disposable, what should you do before and after each use?
Sanitize, wash
What term refers to taking a person’s temperature under their armpit?
Axillary
What term refers to the action of breathing, involving both the movement of air in and out of the body and the chemical aspects of exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide and circulating gases throughout the body?
respiration
What is it called when someone measures a pulse rate by using a stethoscope to listen at the point of maximum pulse close to the heart?
apical pulse
How do we refer to a subjective evaluation of how much or how little the chest or abdomen rises during breathing?
depth
The process of maintaining a stable body temperature is referred to as:
homeostasis
To increase body temperature, ____ and an increase in metabolism are triggered.
shivering
Rather than assessing her patient’s respiration by placing his hand on the patient’s chest or by watching the chest and abdomen rise and fall, Dr. Wong is using a specific tool to help him assess his patient’s respiration. What is this tool called?
Stethoscope
Babies have a high rate of growth that requires not just food but oxygen, so babies need more _____ to bring nutrients and oxygen to their fast-growing tissues.
Circulation
Measuring the height, weight, waist circumference, and skinfold thickness of adults can help to determine if a patient is:
obese or overweight
The most common way to take pulse is by measuring the beat of the heart as felt through the walls of the radial artery, at the wrist. What is this called?
Radial pulse
Miranda is using a non-invasive way to assess the oxygen saturation of the blood using a device that measures the proportion of oxygen saturation in the blood, known as a(n):
pulse oximeter
Non-invasive physical measurements to determine body composition, shape, and size are referred to as:
anthropometric measurements
When you examine a part of the body with touch in a healthcare setting, what is it called?
palpation
Why should you never try and palpate with your thumb when trying to take a patient’s pulse?
Because your thumb has a pulse
Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of the arteries during heart contraction with _____ pressure being the maximum pressure exerted against the arterial walls as the heart contracts.
Systolic
What are the four basic vital signs that you will frequently measure and record in a career in allied health?
blood pressure, temperature, pulse rate, and respiration rate
High blood pressure is a problem for many people in North America and throughout the world because it can quietly damage the body for years without any symptoms, hurting the heart, the arteries, the brain, the kidneys, and the eyes. What is another name for high blood pressure?
hypertension
What kind of pressure is the lowest pressure exerted against the artery walls between contractions of the heart, while it is at rest?
diastolic pressure
To measure blood pressure, you will need a stethoscope, a blood pressure cuff, and a device used to measure blood pressure known as a(n):
sphygmomanometer
Pain is often assessed by asking the patient their pain level on a scale of 1-10, but this is a(n) ____ measurement.
subjective
What term refers to an emergency procedure performed when someone’s breathing has stopped, or the heart has stopped beating, and consists of chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing to supply oxygenated blood to the brain?
CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation
In an American Red Cross course, in addition to CPR training, you may also learn how to use a portable electronic device that can diagnose and administer a shock to a person whose heart has stopped. What is this device called?
AED (automated external defibrillator)
What term refers to the heartbeat that can be felt on surface arteries as the blood moves through the body?
pulse
When a person experiences intense discomfort in the chest and upper body, shortness of breath, cold sweats, and nausea or vomiting, there is a good chance that blood flow to the heart is blocked which is known as a(n):
heart attacks
Something that is caused by heart attack or other factors and involves the sudden stopping or erratic beating of the heart, described as an “electrical” malfunction which disrupts the flow of blood to the brain, lungs, and other organs, is called:
Cardiac Arrest
In most places, someone who renders medical aid in an emergency is considered a “good ____” and cannot be sued or criminally charged, even if they make an error.
Samaritan
When assessing someone’s breathing, wheezing, gurgling sounds, coughing, crackles, piercing, or snoring sounds indicate ____ breathing.
abnormal
Where are the carotid arteries located?
the side of the head
The degree of work required to breathe is referred to as:
effort
When attempting to take someone’s pulse using the femoral artery, what physical position should the patient be in?
Lying down
The intervals between ____ cycles indicate regular or irregular breathing rhythms.
rhythm
.When the body temperature hits 96°F or below, death occurs.
False
We can consciously alter body temperature by putting on more clothing, turning on an air conditioner, or moving to a warmer or cooler place.
True
The body balances heat production and heat loss by sensing variations and using processes to compensate.
True
For a long time, 98.6° F has been considered the “normal” temperature for human adults, but more recent research has been finding that this is probably lower than the average temperature.
False
Professional electronic thermometers have an electronic probe attached to a portable unit with a wire.
True
Pulse and respiration rates change throughout the lifespan and in response to exercise, disease or injury, position of the body, medications, and other factors.
True
It is impossible for a person with stable vital signs that are within the normal limits to have urgent medical needs.
False
Electronic blood pressure monitors are slowly replacing the more hands-on tools like stethoscopes and sphygmomanometers.
True
Dax has low blood pressure and although he exhibits no symptoms, his doctor is very concerned because regardless of symptoms, low blood pressure is considered a very dangerous and fatal problem.
True
When we are measuring vital signs like temperature, blood pressure, respiration rate, and pulse rate, we are studying the essential physical processes that occur in a living body.
True
Every second that the brain goes without blood flow can cause damage.
True
For oral temperature, make sure to assess at least two to three hours after patient has consumed hot or cold substances or has smoked.
False
Vital signs indicate but do not guarantee physiological well-being.
True
Assessing someone’s vital signs is not a good indicator of how well their body is functioning.
False
The heart supplies nutrients and oxygen to all parts of the body by a continuous rhythmic contraction that forces blood through the arteries.
True
You will not need basic math skills to assist you in measuring, recording, and monitoring vital signs, only basic linguistic skills.
False
A high temperature may indicate a fever or hypothermia, while a low temperature may be a sign of heat exhaustion.
False
Emergency first aid skills can come in handy to save the life of a person who has deliberately or accidentally taken an overdose of drugs.
True
Abnormal vital signs are not a big deal, can generally be ignored, and do not need to be reported to a supervisor.
False
It is important to use excessive pressure when palpating pressure—when you squish the artery it makes it easier to feel the pulse.
False
