| A | B |
|---|
| blunt-force trauma | injury caused by a blow that does not penetrate through the skin or body tissue |
| CHEMTREC | agency that provides advice on hazardous materials via a hotline |
| danger zone | area around the wreckage of a vehicle collision or other incident within which special safety precautions should be taken |
| domestic violence | violence in the home |
| high index of suspicion | keen awareness that a person may have injuries |
| law of inertia | principle that a body in motion will remain in motion unless acted on by an outside force |
| mechanism of injury | force or forces that may have caused injury |
| "North American Emergency Response Guidebook" | material available for rescuers to obtain quick information about hazardous materials |
| penetrating trauma | injury casued by an object that passes through the skin or other body tissues |
| scene size-up | steps taken by an EMS crew when approaching, arriving, and attending at the scene of an emergency call to ensure the safety of the crew, the patient, and bystanders |
| alert | awake and oriented |
| AVPU | memory aid used to keep levels of responsiveness in mind |
| Capillary refill | method of assessing circulation in a pediatric patient |
| chief complaint | reason EMS was called |
| general impression | part of teh EMT-B's evaluation that includes assessment of the environment and the pateint's chief complaint and appearance |
| initial assessment | steps taken by the EMT-B for the purpose of discovering and dealing with a patient's life-threatening problems |
| interventions | actions taken to correct a patient's problems |
| mental status | level of a patient's responsiveness |
| responsive | ability to respond to stimuli |
| unresponsive | lack of response to any stimuli |
| auscultation | when a stethoscope is used to listen for characteristic sounds |
| blood pressure | force of blood against the walls of the blood vessels |
| brachial artery | major artery of teh arm |
| bradycardia | slow pulse; any pulse rate below 60 beats per minute |
| carotid pulse | pulse felt along the large artery on either side of the neck |
| constrict | to get smaller |
| dilate | to get larger |
| diastolic blood pressure | pressure remaining in the arteries when the left ventricle of the heart relaxes and refills |
| palpation | feeling with the fingertips |
| pulse | rhythnic beats felt as the heart pumps blood through the arteries |
| pulse quality | rhythm (regular or irregular) and force (strong or weak) of the pulse |
| pulse rate | number of pulse beats per minute |
| pupil | black center of the eye |
| radial pulse | pulse felt at the wrist on the lateral (thumb) side |
| reactivity | reacting to light by changing size such as occurs in the pupils of the eyes |
| respiratory quality | normal or abnormal (shallow, labored, noisy) character of breathing |
| respiratory rate | number of breaths a person takes in one minute |
| respiratory rhythm | regular or irregular spacing of breaths |
| SAMPLE history | information about the present problems (signs and symptoms) and past medical history of a patient |
| sign | an indication of a patient's condition that is objective - something you see, hear, feel, or smell |
| sphygmomanometer | cuff and guage used to measure blood pressure |
| symptom | an indication of a patient's condition that cannot be observed but rather is subjective - something felf and reported by the patient |
| systolic pressure | pressure created when the heart contracts and forces blood into the arteries |
| tachycardia | rapid pulse; any pulse rate above 100 beats per minute |
| vital signs | outward signs of what is going on inside the body, including respiration; pulse; skin color; temperature; and condition; pupils; and blood pressure |
| colostomy | surgical opening the the wall of teh abdomen with a bag in place to collect excretions from the disgestive system |
| contusion | a bruise |
| crepitation | grating sensation or sound made when fractured bones rub against each other |
| DCAP-BTLS | memory aid, the initials of which stand for deformities, contusions, abrasions, punctures/penetrations, burns, tenderness, lacerations, and swelling |
| detailed physical exam | an assessment of the head (including face, ears, eyes, nose, and mouth), neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, extremities, and posterior of the body to detect signs and symptoms of injury |
