| A | B |
|---|
| distension | condition of being stretched, inflated, or larger than normal |
| focused history and physical exam | step of patient assessment that follows the initial assessment |
| jugular vein distention | bulging of the neck veins |
| laceration | a cut |
| paradoxical motion | movement of part of the chest in the opposite direction from the rest of the chest during respiration |
| priapism | persistent erection of the penis that can result from spinal cord injury or certain medical problems |
| rapid trauma assessment | quick assessment of the head, neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, extremities, and posterior body to detect signs of injury |
| stoma | permanent surgical opening in the neck through which the patient breathes |
| tenderness | found upon palpation of the body part |
| tracheostomy | surgical incision in the neck help open by a metal or plastic tube |
| chief complaint | reason why EMS was called, usually in patient's own words |
| medical identification device | necklace, bracelet or other device designed to notify emergency personnel that a patient has a specific medical history or condition |
| onset of pain | description of how fast or slow the pain came on and what the patient was doing when the pain started |
| OPQRST | memory jogger designed to remind the EMT-B of what questions to ask the patient about his chief complaint |
| prior history | history relating to the patient's chief complaint |
| provocation of pain | description of what makes the pain worse, such as sitting, standing, or eating certain foods |
| quality of pain | description of where pain, such as stabbing, crampy, dull, or sharp |
| radiation of pain | description of where pain is located and where it spreads to |
| severity of pain | description of how bad the pain is, often described on a scale of 1 to 10 |
| vial of life | medicine-like bottle kept in the patient's refrigerator that contains a listing of his past medical history |
| adolescent | child from 12 to 18 years of age |
| alzheimer's disease | chronic disorder resulting in dementia |
| arrhythmia | abnormal heart rhythm |
| confabulation | when an elderly person replaces lost circumstances with imaginary ones |
| fontanelle | "soft spot" on an infant's skull |
| geriatric | elderly person, generally considered 65 years of age or older |
| hyperextension | tipping the head to far back |
| hypothermia | abnormally low body temperature |
| infant | child less than 1 year of age |
| obligate nose breathers | newborns and infants who do not know to open their mouths to breathe when the nose is obstructed |
| preschooler | child from 3 to 6 years of age |
| regression | when under stress, a child acts like a younger child |
| school age | child from 6 to 12 years of age |
| sniffing position | chin thrust forward to maintain an open airway |
| toddler | child from 1 to 3 years of age |
| base station | two-way radio at a fixed site such as a hospital or dispatch center |
| cellular phone | phone that transmits through the air instead of over wires so that the phone can be transported and used over a wide area |
| digital radio equipment | equipment that permits transmission of standard messages in condensed form by punching a key |
| FCC (Federal Communications Commission) | federal agency that regulates radio communications |
| mobile radio | two-way radio that is used or affixed in a vehicle |
| portable radio | hand-held two-way radio |
| PTT | "press to talk" button on the EMS radio |
| repeater | device that picks up signals from lower-power radio units such as mobile and portable radios and retransmits them at a higher power |
| verbal report | update on the patient's condition given to hospital personnel either face-to-face or over the radio |
| watt | unit of measurement of the output power of a radio |
| data element | each individual box on a prehospital care report |
| falsification | inaccurate entry or misrepresentation on a prehospital care report usually intended to cover up serious flaws in assessment or in care |
| minimum data set | minimum elements that are recommended by the U.S. Department of Transportation to be included in all prehospital care reports nationwide |
| objective statement | observable, measureable, and verifiable information |
| PCR | report form used to EMS agencies to document prehospital assessment and care |
