Vital Signs Flashcards
What are the four main vital signs?
Temperature
Pulse
Respiration
Blood pressure
What is temperature?
Measurement of the balance between heat produced and heat lost by the body.
What are the five different thermometers?
Glass Tympanic Aural Digital Temporal
What are the five main sites to check temperature?
Oral Aural Rectal Axillary Temporal
What is the average temperature of an oral check?
98.6
What is the average temperature of an axial lady check?
97.6
What is the average temperature of a rectal check?
99.6
What is the average temperature of an aural check?
98.6
What is the average temperature of a temporal check?
99.6
What determines a fever?
Abnormally elevated temp of 101 degree or greater
What is another name for fever?
Pyrexia
What is hypothermia?
Abnormally low temperature of 95 degrees or less.
What is hypothermia?
An elevated temperature of 104 degrees of greater.
When wouldn’t you want to take an oral temperature?
If the patient is: A mouth breather Unconscious Restless Uncooperative A young child Delirious Has has something to eat or drink or has smoked in the past thirty minutes.
What are vital signs?
Information about the basic body conditions of the patient
What is pulse?
Pressure of the blood against the wall of an artery as the heart contracts and relaxes (beats).
What are the three things recorded when taking a pulse?
Rate
Volume
Rhythm
What is Rate?
Number of beats per minute
What is Rhythm ?
The regularity of heart beat
What is volume?
The strength of the heart beat
What is an apical pulse?
Use stethoscope at the apex of the heart
Actual heartbeat heard and counted
What is a Radial pulse?
Found on the thumb side of the wrist
What is a brachial pulse?
Found on inner aspect of the elbow
Used for taking BP
What is a carotid pulse?
Located at the neck
One of the last pulses to disappear
What is a temporal pulse?
At the hairline
What if the femoral pulse?
Accessed for heart cath/diagnostic dye tests
What is the popliteal pulse?
Behind the knees
What is a dorsalis pedis pulse?
Located at the top of the foot
What can make a pulse increase?
Exercise
Stress
Medications
What can make a pulse decease?
Sleep
Disease
Medication
What is the normal pulse range for an adult?
60-100
What is a tachycardia pulse range?
> 100
What is a bradycardia pulse range?
What is respiration?
Measurement of rate of breathing
What is considered one respiration?
One inhalation + one exhalation
What is the rate of a respiration?
Number of breaths per minute
What is the character of a pulse?
Quality/depth of respirations
What is rhythm of pulse?
Regularity of respiration
What is dyspnea?
difficult respirations
What is apnea?
No breathing
What is tachyapnea?
> 25 resp/min
What is bradyapnea?
What is Orthopnea?
Severe dyspnea
What is cyanosis?
Bluish discoloration of skin/tissue due to a decrease or lack of oxygen
What is Rales?
Moist respiration. Air passing through mucus or fluid
What is wheezing?
High pitched sound of air passing through constricted airways
What is cheyne-stokes?
Dyspnea/apnea
Often seen in the dying
Called agonal breathing
What can increase respiration?
Exercise Fever Medication Gender Illness
What can decrease respiration?
Sleep Illness Trauma Gender Body temp.
What is blood pressure?
Measurement of the force exerted by the blood against the walls of the arteries when the heart relaxes or contracts
What is systolic?
Measures the greatest pressure when the heart contracts
Diastolic
Measures the least pressure when the heart is at rest
What is hypertension?
Abnormally elevated blood pressure
What does auscultate mean?
Examine by listening
What is a sphygmomanometer?
Blood pressure cuff
What is hypotension?
Abnormally low BP
What is the 5th vital sign?
Degree of pain
