| A | B |
|---|
| Pulse | the pressure of the blood felt against the wall of an artery as the heart contracts and relaxes or beats |
| Rate | the number of beats per minute |
| Rhythm | the regularity of a pulse |
| Volume | the strength of a pulse |
| Respirations | the breathing rate of a patient |
| Blood Pressure | the force exerted by the blood against the artery walls when the heart contracts and relaxes and measured by systolic and diastolic |
| Apical Pulse | the pulse taken with a stethoscope at the apex of the heart for one minute |
| Temperature | the balance between heat lost and heat produced by the body |
| Homeostasis | a constant state of fluid balance and the ideal state in the human body |
| Oral Temperature ( O ) | 98.6 and taken by mouth and is color coded blue or green |
| Rectal Temperature ( R ) | 99.6 and the most accurate temperature and is color coded RED |
| Axillary Temperature ( Ax ) | 97.6 and is taken under the armpit |
| Aural Temperature ( T ) | 98.6 and is taken in the ear also known as Tympanic |
| Hypothermia | LOW body temperature < 95 |
| Fever | Elevated temperature above 101 |
| Pyrexia | Another name for Fever |
| Febrile | means a fever is present |
| Afebrile | means no fever is present |
| Hyperthermia | HIGH body temperature > 104 |
| Temporal Pulse | pulse at the side of the head near the outside corner of the eye |
| Carotid Pulse | at the neck and most commonly used during CPR |
| Brachial Pulse | inner aspect of the forearm at the crease of the elbow (anticubital space) and most commonly used during Blood Pressure |
| Radial Pulse | at then inner aspect of the wrist near the thumb and the most common location to take a pulse |
| Femoral Pulse | pulse at the crease of the legs and torso and most commonly used for heart cath procedures |
| Popliteal Pulse | pulse behind the knee |
| Dorsalis Pedis Pulse | pulse at the top of the foot and most commonly checked following knee surgery or any diabetic patient |
| Adult Pulse Rate | 60-90 beats per minute |
| Childs Pulse Rate | 90-110 beats per minute |
| Infants Pulse Rate | 100-160 beats per minute |
| Bradycardia | a pulse less than 60 beats per minute |
| Tachycardia | a pulse more than 100 beats per minute |
| Arrythmia | an irregular or abnormal rhythm or heart rate that is usually found upon examination or during an EKG |
| Respirations | is the process of taking in Oxygen O2 and expelling Carbon Dioxide CO2. One breath in and one breath out is 1 respiration |
| Character of Respirations | refers to the depth and quality of respirations and described with words like deep, shallow, labored, difficult, stertorous, and moist |
| Dyspnea | difficult or labored breathing |
| Apnea | absence of respirations |
| Tachypnea | respiratory rate above 25 respirations per minute |
| Bradypnea | respiratory rate below 10 respirations per minute |
| Orthopnea | severe dyspnea in which breathing is very difficult in any position other than sitting erect or standing |
| Cheyne-Stokes | respiration characterized by periods of dyspnea and apnea and frequently noted in dying patients |
| Rales | bubbling or noisy sounds caused by fluid or mucus in the air passages |
| Wheezing | difficult breathing with a high pitched whistling or sighing sound during expiration; caused by a narrowing of bronchioles (like in asthma patients) |
| Cyanosis | a dusky, bluish discoloration of the skin, lips, and/or nail beds as a result of decreased oxygen and increased carbon dioxide |
| Stethoscope | an instrument used by medical practitioners to hear various bodily functions |
| Pulse Deficit | when the heart is either too weak to pump enough blood to produce a pulse or blood pressure OR the heart beats so fast it does not have time to pre-load with blood and the Apical Pulse is different from the pulse at other sites |
| Blood Pressure | is a measurement of pressure that the blood exerts on the walls of the arteries in mm/HG and usually documented as Systolic over Diastolic |
| Sphygmomanometer | Blood Pressure Apparatus |
| Systolic | the pressure at maximum contraction of the heart and ranges from 100-140 |
| Diastolic | the residual pressure on the artery walls at rest and usually between 60-80 |
| Hypertension (HTN) | High Blood Pressure and can be caused by stress, anxiety, obesity, high salt diet, aging, kidney disease, diabetes, and heart disease to name a few |
| Hypotenstion | Low Blood Pressure and may be caused by extreme fluid shifts from high to low, heart failure, depression, burns, hemorrhage, and shock |
