Vital Signs

Question 1

Vital Definition

Answer 1

essential or necessary

Question 2

What are commonly considered vital signs?

Answer 2

Body Temp., pulse, respirations, blood pressure

Question 3

What are vital signs for?

Answer 3

Helps doctors
diagnose diseases and
evaluate how well
treatments are working

Question 4

Temperature

Answer 4

a measure of his or her
body heat; regulated by the hypothalamus in the brain

Question 5

Pyrexia (fever)

Answer 5

caused
by the body heating up to
try to protect itself

Question 6

Locations where body
temperature can be taken

Answer 6

– Oral
– Rectal (more accurate)
– Axillary
– Tympanic
– Temporal arteries (more accurate)

Question 7

Non-digital thermometers

Answer 7

used for oral, rectal,
or axillary temperatures; read by looking at the
thermometer’s scale; important to leave the
thermometer in place for
the prescribed amount of
time

Question 8

Digital thermometers

Answer 8

used for oral, rectal, or
axillary temperatures; digital display; probe that is inserted to measure
temperature

Question 9

Disposable oral
thermometers

Answer 9

used to reduce the risk
of infection; dots on the
thermometer change
color to show the body
temperature

Question 10

Tympanic Thermometers

Answer 10

measures the temperature
on the eardrum; usually
battery-operated and
have a digital display; Placement is very
important to get an
accurate reading

Question 11

Temporal Artery Thermometers

Answer 11

measure the
temperature of arteries on
either side of the head; can also be used to measure
temporal artery temperature

Question 12

Pulse

Answer 12

pressure of
the blood against the wall
of an artery as the heart
beats

Question 13

What does a pulse tell you?

Answer 13

how well the cardiovascular
system is working

Question 14

Pulse Locations

Answer 14

Three commonly used
pulse locations
– Radial pulse (located on the radial artery at the wrist)
– Apical pulse (taken
by using a stethoscope)
– Carotid pulse

Question 15

Parts of a Stethoscope

Answer 15

– Two earpieces
– Rubber or plastic tubing
– A brace that connects the
tubing to the earpieces
– A diaphragm that
magnifies the sound
– A bell that can detect
fainter sounds

Question 16

Pulse Rate

Answer 16

measured by counting the number of beats in one minute

Question 17

Bradycardia

Answer 17

a slow pulse rate of less than 60 beats per minute

Question 18

Tachycardia

Answer 18

a fast pulse rate of over 100 beats per minute

Question 19

Respiration

Answer 19

the measurement of a
patient’s breathing cycle; determines the level of
oxygen in the blood

Question 20

How to measure respiration?

Answer 20

record the number of full
breaths taken in one minute; best to count the respiration rate immediately after the pulse

Question 21

normal adult respiratory
rate

Answer 21

12 to 20 breaths
per minute

Question 22

pulse oximeter

Answer 22

measures how well oxygen is being
used in the body; applied
to the patient’s finger; uses infrared light that passes through the body
tissue

Question 23

normal reading for oxygen in the blood

Answer 23

95 percent to 100 percent

Question 24

hypoxia

Answer 24

below 85 percent oxygen in blood

Question 25

Blood pressure

Answer 25

a measure of the force of the blood pushing against the body’s arterial walls

Question 26

Hypotension

Answer 26

can mean the body
is not getting enough oxygen and nutrients

Question 27

Hypertension

Answer 27

may place too much pressure on the walls of the arteries

Question 28

Measuring Blood Pressure

Answer 28

Two pressure levels are
measured as the heart beats
* Systolic: the heart muscle
contracts
* Diastolic: the heart muscle
relaxes
measured using a stethoscope and a
sphygmomanometer

Question 29

Factors Affecting Blood Pressure

Answer 29

– Diet
– Weight
– Exercise
– Race
– Time of reading
– Body position
– Cigarettes, alcohol,
drugs, and medication
– Stress, fear, or pain

Question 30

What are three main types of devices used to
measure blood pressure? Describe each one.

Answer 30

• Manual aneroid sphygmomanometer
  – Uses a round dial with a needle that points to numbers
• Manual mercury manometer
  – Uses a column of mercury that rises and falls
• Electronic sphygmomanometer
  – Uses a digital display; does not require a stethoscope

Question 31

Tracking height and
weight determines?

Answer 31

– Nutritional status
– Medication dosages
– General health status

Question 32

Measuring Height

Answer 32

feet (′) and inches (′′) or in
centimeters (cm)
Can be measured by
having the patient stand on
a scale or a tape measure can be used

Question 33

Measuring Weight

Answer 33

often used to calculate
medication dosages;
should be measured at the same time each day; A lift or a bed scale may be
needed for some patients