VOCABULARY VITAL SIGNS

Apex:  Pointed extremity of a conical structure.

Auscultation:  Examine by listening for sounds within the body.

Blood volume: 10-12 pints.

Carbon-dioxide tension:  PCO ₂   amount of carbon dioxide in air or blood 35-45 mm Hg.

Cyanosis:  Skin color; insufficient oxygenation of the blood. Bluish,  grayish,  slatelike or dark purple due to reduced hemoglobin in the blood.

Diastolic: Blood pressure during the relaxation phase between heart beats. Dependent primarily on the elasticity of the arteries and peripheral resistance. 1st diastolic sound change: pulsation becomes soft or                 sound changes form loud to soft.  Final diastolic pressure: sound disappears.

Dyspnea: Air hunger- labored, difficult breathing, insufficient oxygenation of the blood. SOB

Hemoglobin: Iron containing pigment of the red blood cells.

Hypercapnia: Increased amount of CO ₂ in the blood.

Hypocapnia: Decreased amount of CO ₂ in the blood.

Hypothermia: Having a blood temperature below normal. Accidental: cold water drowning. Exposure to low temperature without protection. Total failure of the body temperature regulating system due to alcohol, sedatives or antidepressants. Surgical use:  technique to reduce the oxygen need of the body during surgery.

Hypoxemia: Insufficient oxygenation of the blood.

Hypoxia: Deficiency of oxygen. Decreased concentration of oxygen in the inspired air.

Interstitial: Spaces within an organ or tissue.

Osmolarity: Characteristic of a solution determined by the ionic concentration of the dissolved substances per unit of solvent.

Hyperosmolar solution: induces fluid from intestine to move across the semipermeable membrane of  the intestinal wall and be excreted = dehydration.

Hyposmolar solution: absorbed into intestinal spaces creating excess of fluid = toxicity.

Hypertonic: pertaining to a solution of higher concentration than another.

Nasopharyngeal: Pertaining to the pharynx and nose, above the palate.

Oropharyngeal: Between the palate and the hyoid bone.

Oxygen tension:  PO₂   amount of oxygen in air or blood.   80-100 mmHg. 

Oximeter: ( ok sim’ eter )  Photo electric apparatus measuring the amount of light transmitted through a translucent part of the skin- determines the amount of oxygen in the blood.

PH:  Acidity or alkalinity of the blood

            0-7    increasing acidity ( 0= maximum acidity )

            7       solution neither acid or alkaline

            7-14  increasing alkalinity ( 14 maximum alkalinity)

          AVERAGE pH  7.34-7.45

Pericardium:  Sac enclosing the heart and the origins of the great blood vessels.

Pulmonary function:  Lungs ability to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide efficiently.

Pulse pressure:  Systolic pressure minus diastolic pressure. Expression of the tone of the arterial walls.

Systole: Part of the heart cycle in which the heart is in contraction.  Myocardial fibers are  tightening and shortening.  Blood is surged through the aorta and pulmonary artery. First prominent thumping beat is            heard.

Systolic pressure: Maximum blood pressure in the left ventricle.

Visera: Internal organs enclosed within a cavity, especially abdominal organs.

Viscosity:  State of being sticky or gummy.  Resistance offered by a fluid to change of form or relative position of its particles due to attraction of molecules to each other. 

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