Hello, and thank you for using my cards. There are 2 terms on the front of each card and the definitions for those terms on the backside of the card.

Hello, and thank you for using my cards. There are 2 terms on the front of each card and the definitions for those terms on the backside of the card.

Abrupt:
Example: The nurse noticed an abrupt change in the patient's level of pain.
Abstain:
Example: The dental hygienist instructed the patient to abstain from smoking to improve his breath odor.

-Sudden

-To voluntarily refrain from something.

Access:
Example: To administer medications into the patient's vein, the nurse must access the vein w/a special needle.
Accountable:
Example: Paramedics are accountable for maintaining up-to-date knowledge of resuscitation techniques.

-A means to obtain entry or a means of approach

-Responsible

Adhere:
Example: The tape must adhere to the patient's skin to hold the bandage in place.

Adverse:
Vomiting is an adverse effect of many medications.

- To hold fast or stick together.

- Undesired, possible harmful.

Affect:
The nurse observed that a depressed patient exhibited no obvious emotion & reported that the patient had a flat affect.

Annual:
The patient told the nurse that she had scheduled her annual mammogram.

- Appearance of observable emotions

- Occurring every year.

Apply:
The physical therapist will apply a medication to the wound.

Audible:
The respiratory therapist noticed that when the patient was having difficulty breathing, he could hear an audible wheezing sound.

- To place, put on, or spread something.

- Able to be heard.

Bilateral:
The patient had bilatral weakness in the legs when walking.

Cast:
Children cannot going swimming if they have a cast on their arm.

- Present on two sides

- Hard protective device applied to protect a broken bone while the bone heals.

Cease:
Because the patient's breathing had ceased, the paramedic began resuscitation.

Compensatory:
When the patient's blood pressure decreased, the heart-rate increased, which the paramedic recognized that as a compensatory action.

- Come to an end or bring to an end.

- Offsetting or making up for something.

Complication:
The patient's loss of eyesight is a possible complication of eye surgery.

Comply:
The nurse asked the patient to comply w/the instructions for taking the medication.

- An undesired problem that is the result of some other event.

- Do as directed.

Concave:
The patient was very thin, and her abdomen appeared concave.

Concise:
When teaching, the nurse tried to be concise, so the instructions would be easy to remember.

- Rounded inward

- Brief, and to the point

Consistency:
The mucus the patient was coughing up was of a thin, watery consistency.

Constrict:
Small blood vessels of the skin will constrict when ice is applied to the skin.

- Degree of viscosity; how thick or thin a fluid is

- To draw together or become smaller.

Contingent:
A healthy mouth is contingent on careful daily brushing & flossing.

Contour:
The CNA noticed that the contour of the patient's abdomen was rounded.

- Dependant

- Shape or outline of a shape.

Contract:
Skeletal muscles have the ability to contract & expand.

Contraindication:
The patient's excessive bleeding was a contraindication for discharge from the hospital.

- To draw together, to reduce in size.

- A reason why something is not advisable or why it should not be done.

Defecate:
The CNA helped the patient to the toilet so he could defecate.

Deficit:
You can experience a fluid deficit if you perspire heavily without drinking water.

- Expel feces.

-A deficiency or lack of something.

Depress:
The nurse will depress the patient's skin to see if any swelling is present.

Depth:
The physician measures the depth of a wound by inserting a cotton swab into the wound.

- Press downward

- Downward measurement from a surface.

Deteriorating:
The patient's gums are deteriorating and treatment is needed ASAP.

Device:
A thermometer is a device used to measure body temperature.

- Worsening

- Tool or piece of equipment.

Diameter:
When the diameter of a blood vessel increases, the pressure in that blood vessel goes down.

Dilate:
When light is shined in your eyes, your pupils will dilate.

- The distance across the center of an object.

- To enlarge or expand.

Dilute:
Use fruit juice to dilute a foul-tasting drug, making it easier to swallow.

Discrete:
The CNA observed several discrete bruise marks on the patient's body.

- To make a liquid less concentrated.

- Distinct, separate.

Distended:
It is easier to draw blood from a distended blood vessel.

Elevate:
The nurse advised the pregnant patient to elevate her feet, to help stop the swelling of her ankles.

- Enlarged or expanded from pressure.

- To lift up or place in a higher position.

Endogenous:
Endogenous insulin is produced by the pancreas.

Exacerbate:
Too much excercise would exacerbate the patient's breathing difficulties.

- Produced within the body

- To make worse or more severe.

Excess:
An excess consumption of caffeine may cause unpleasant effects such as feeling nervous.

Exogenous:
Usually type I diabetics have to take exogenous insulin, because their bodies are unable to produce enough/any insulin on its own.

- More than what is needed or usual.

- Produced outside the body.

Expand:
Rubberbands are made to expand & contract.

Exposure:
Too much sun exposure is leads to premature aging of the skin.

- To increase in size or amount.

- Contact

External:

We have an internal layer and an external layer of skin.

Fatal:

Paramedics arrived too late to save any lives at the scene of a fatal car crash.

- Located outside the body.

- Resulting in death.

Fatigue:
Staying up all night will lead to daytime fatigue.

Flaccid:
After her stroke, the patient could not feed herself because her arms were flaccid.

-Extreme tiredness, exhaustion.

- Limp, lacking tone

Flushed:
After exercising you may notice that your face appears flushed.

Gaping:
The kid fell into a gaping whole in his back yard.

- Reddened or ruddy appearance

- Wide open

Gender:
Female gender places patients at higher risk for breast cancer.

Hydration:
Adequate hydration leads to soft and supple skin.

- Sex of an individual, as male or female

- Maintenance of body fluid balance.

Hygeine:
Good bodily hygeine prevents bad body odor.

Impaired:
It was obvious that alcohol impaired the driver's, ability to drive.

- Measures contributing to cleanliness & good health.

-Diminished or lacking some usual quality or level.

Impending:
The patient signed a consent form for the impending procedure.

Incidence:
There has been an increased incidence of infections that do not respond to antibiotics.

- Likely to occur soon.

- Occurrence

Inflamed:
The patient's cut got infected and was inflamed.

Ingest:
It is dangerous to ingest harsh chemicals.

- Reddened, swollen, warm & often tender

- To swallow for digestion

Initiate:
The patient was weak, so the nurse decided to initiate safety procedures.

Insidious:
Cancer can be hard to detect, because its spread is so insidious.

- To begin or put into practice

- So gradual as to not become apparent for a long time.

Intact:
The nurse observed that the bandage was intact after surgery.

Internal:
After the accident Shelly suffered from internal bleeding.

- In place, unharmed.

- Located within the body.

Invasive:
Blood sampling is considered an invasive procedure.

Labile:
A labile change in body temperature is not normal and can result in a trip to the ER.

-Inserting or entering into a body part.

- Changing rapidly and often.

Latent:
The crime scene was full of latent finger prints.

Lethargic:
The child was lethargic, so his mother rushed him to the doctors.

-Present, but not active or visible.

- Difficult to arouse.

Manifestation:
The dietician looked for manifestations of poor nutrition, such as severe weight loss.

Nutrient:
Fruits and vegetables contain nutrients that reduce the risk of some cancers.

- An indication or sign of a condition.

- Substance or ingredient that provides nourishment.

Occluded:
A cold & blue foot leads the nurse to believe that the circultion to that foot was occluded.

Ominous:
Severe chest pains is an ominous sign, could mean a heart attack.

- Closed or obstructed

- Significantly important and dangerous.

Ongoing:
Treatment for cancer in most cases is ongoing.

Oral:
Another term for mouth is, oral cavity.

- Continuous

- Given through or affecting the mouth.

Overt:
The overt symptoms of the disease included vomiting and diarrhea.

Parameter:
The number of calories needed for energy is one of the important parameters of a healthy diet.

- Obvious, easily observed.

- A characteristic or constant factor.

Paroxysmal:
The respiratory therapist provided a breathing treatment to stop the patient's paroxysmal breathing difficulty.

Patent:
The nurse checked to see whether the intravenous needle was patent before giving the patient her medication.

- Beginning suddenly or abruptly.

- Open

Potent:
The medication was very potent and it immediately relieved the pateint's pain.

Potential:
Because the patient was very weak, the CNA felt the patient had a high potential for falling.

- Producing a strong effect.

- Capable of occurring or likely to occur.

Precaution:
The laboratory technician wore gloves as a precaution against blood contamination.

Precipitous:
The paramedic assisted the pregant woman during a precipitous delivery in her home.

- Preventive measure.

- Rapid, uncontrolled

Predispose:
The dietician explains that high dietary fat intake predisposes some person to heart disease.

Preexisting:
The patient had many preexisting condition, prior to her arrival to the hospital.

- To make more susceptible or more likely to occur.

- Already present.

Primary:
The patient's primary concern was when he could return to work after the operation.

Priority:
It is a high priority to ensure lab techs are gentle when drawing blood.

- First or most significant.

- Of great importance.

Prognosis:
The physician explained that w/treatment the prognosis would be good.

Rational:
The dietician explained the rationale for the low-salt diet to the patient.

- The anticipated or expected course or outcome.

- The underlying reason.

Recur:
The patient does not want her tooth cavity to recur, so she uses toothpaste w/flouride.

Restrict:
Patient was advised to restrict the intake of fluid prior to surgery.

- To occur again.

- To limit.

Retain:
Eating lots of salt will cause our bodies to reatain water.

Site:
The CNA selected a site to take the patients blood pressure.

- To hold or keep.

- Location.

Status:
The patient's status is very unstable.

Strict:
The pregnant patient was put on strict bed rest.

- Condition.

- Stringent, exact, complete.

Supplement:
The patient was advised to supplement their diet with extra calcium.

Suppress:
The medications administered suppressed the patient's fever.

- To take in addition to or to complete.

- To stop or subdue

Symmetric (symmetrical):
The CNA observed that the movement of both sides of the patient's chest was symmetrical after the accident.

Symptom:
The nurse recognized that the patient's weakness was a symptom of bleeding after surgery.

- Being equal or the same in size, shape, and relative postion.

- An indication of a problem.

Untoward:
The patient became very confused, which was an untoward effect of the medication received.

Urinate:
The nurse instructed the patient to report if they were not able to urinate.

- Adverse or negative.

- Excrete or expel urine.

Verbal:
The doctor called the hospital and gave a verbal report on the patient's status.

Vital:
The doctor knows that it is vital to learn what type of poison was taken when caring for a poisoning victim.

- Spoken, using words.

- Essential.

Void:
The patient was instructed to void in the container to measure output.

Volume:
The nurse recorded the volume of cough syrup administered to the patient.

- Excrete, or expel urine..

- Amount of space occupied by a fluid.