| A | B |
|---|
| apical-radial pulse | taking the apical and radial pulses at the same time |
| blood pressure (BP) | the amoun of force exerted against the walls of an artery by the blood |
| body temperature | the amount of heat in the body that is a balance between the amount of heat produced and the amount lost by the body |
| bradycardia | a slow (brady) heart rate (cardia); less than 60 beats per minute |
| diastole | the period of heart muscle relaxation; the heart is at rest |
| fever | elevated body temperature |
| hypertension | blood pressure measurements remaining agove (hyper) a systolic pressure of 140 mm Hg or a diastolic pressure of 90 mm Hg |
| hypotension | when the systolic blood pressure is below (hypo) 90 mm Hg and the diastolic pressure is below 60 mm Hg |
| pulse | the beat of the heart felt at an artery as a wave of blood passes through the artery |
| pulse deficit | the difference between the apical and radial pulse rates |
| pulse rate | the number of heartbeats or pulses felt in 1 minute |
| respiration | breathing air into (inhalation) and out of (exhalation) the lungs |
| sphygmomanometer | a cuff and measuring device used to measure blood pressure |
| stethoscope | an instrument used to listen to sounds produced by the heart, lungs, and other body organs |
| systole | the period of heart muscle contraction; the heart is pumping blood |
| systolic pressure | the pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts |
| tachycardia | a rapid (tachy) heart rate (cardia); more than 100 beats per minutes |
| vital signs | temperature, pulse, respirations and blood pressure |
