Health sciences final study guide

Terminal illness

A disease or condition that will eventually cause death.

Acute illness

A disease or condition that requires immediate attention.

Chronic Illness

A disease or condition that will last a long time or forever.

General hospital

Provides short-term care, acute care, diagnostic and rehabilitation services.

Specialty Hospital

Provides treatment for a specific condition such as cancer, mental health, or rehabilitation.

Practitioner's office (doctor's office)

Provides diagnosis, simple testing, treatments, and counseling services.

Long-term care center

24 hour supervised care.

Home Health Care

Provides care in the home of the patient.

Hospice care

Provides medical and psychological care for the terminally ill either in the home or in a hospice facility.

Assisted living facility

Provides residents a way to live alone or with someone else in an apartment, providing services as needed such as meals and healthcare.

Adult Day Care

Provides care throughout the day for the elderly.

Hearing, sight, smell

Senses used in making observations of your patients.

Sender sends message to receiver, receiver receives message, receiver provides feedback

The 3 steps to proper communication.

Verbal communication

Consists of words spoken or written and sounds.

Nonverbal communication

Communication without using language such as gestures.

Barriers to effective communication

Examples include using medical terminology when talking to the patient, language barriers, using slang, and using poor body language.

Cell

The smallest unit of life.

Tissues

Specialized cells come together to form this.

Organs

Tissues come together to form this.

Systems

Organs come together to form this.

Human body

Systems come together to form this.

Skin

The largest organ of the body.

Melanin

The pigment that gives skin color.

Disease or disorder

A change in the normal function or structure of a body part.

Handwashing

The most effective way to prevent the spread of infection.

Standard Precautions

CDC guidelines for infection control that are applied to all patients, all of the time.

PPE

Personal Protective Equipment.

1435

2:35 p.m. converted to military time.

500

5:05 a.m. converted to military time.

1:00 PM

1300 converted to regular time.

8:15 PM

2015 converted to regular time.

Proper body mechanics

Examples include no twisting at the waist, bending at the knees when lifting, lifting with your legs not your back, keeping back straight, and holding objects close to your body.

Atria

The top chambers of the heart.

Ventricles

The bottom chambers of the heart.

Systolic phase

The heart is contracting and squeezing/pushing out the blood.

Diastolic phase

The heart is relaxing/resting and filling back up with blood.

Pulse points

Temporal, carotid, apical, brachial, radial, femoral, popliteal, and pedal.

Aorta

The largest artery of the body.

Arteries

The majority of these vessels carry blood AWAY from the heart.

Cardiologist

A medical doctor specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of heart conditions.

Cardiology

The branch of medicine that deals with diseases and abnormalities of the heart.

Stenosis

the narrowing or stricture of a duct Canal or blood vessel

Lub-dub sound of the heart

the opening and closing of the heart valves.

Normal healthy blood pressure

120/80

Upper respiratory system

includes the nasal cavity, mouth, pharynx, and the larynx

Lower respiratory system

includes the trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli and capillaries.

Functions of the respiratory system

It exchanges gases between blood and the lungs; It helps regulate body temperature by cooling or warming the blood; it helps maintain the blood's electrolyte balance

Respiration

the act of breathing in and out

Inhalation

Breathing IN

Exhalation

Breathing OUT

Normal range of breaths per minute

16-20 times per minute

Apnea

the absence of breathing

Dyspnea

difficulty breathing

Red blood cells (erythrocytes) lifespan

90-120 days

White blood cells (leukocytes) lifespan

Up to 9 days depending on one's immune system

Function of leukocytes

Remove foreign particles and fight infection

Four main blood types

A, B, AB, and O

Pulse counting duration

To get an accurate reading, you should count for one full minute.

Normal pulse rate for an adult

60 to 100 beats per minute

Axial skeleton

includes 80 bones of the head and trunk of the body

Appendicular skeleton

includes 126 bones of the pelvis, shoulders, arms and legs

Classifications of bones

Long bones are longer than they are wide; short bones have similar length and width; flat bones are more flat than anything; irregular bones do not fit into the other categories.

Arthritis

Inflammation of the joints

Structures of the muscular system

The human body has over 600 muscles. There are three types of muscle tissue: skeletal muscles, visceral muscles, and cardiac muscles.

Functions of the muscular system

Muscles aid in movement of the body; muscles provide and maintain posture; muscles protect our internal organs; muscles provide movement of food, blood and waste products through the body; muscles open and close body openings; muscles produce heat.

Types of muscle movement

Flexion and extension; abduction and adduction; Rotation; supination and pronation.

Structures of the digestive system

include the mouth, salivary glands, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestines (duodenum and ileum), large intestine (colon), and accessory organs (liver, gallbladder, pancreas).

Functions of the digestive system

The main function is to break down food to a form that can be used by the body cells.

Digestion Process

Includes transportation of food and waste, physical and chemical breakdown, absorption of digested food and final elimination of waste.

Mechanical Digestion

The mouth chews up the food to start the mechanical digestion process.

Salivary Glands

Produce saliva that moistens and lubricates the food and begins chemical digestion.

Pharynx

Where you swallow the food.

Esophagus

Transports the food from your pharynx to your stomach.

Stomach

Stores and turns the food into a digestible bolus of nutrients.

Small Intestine

Completes digestion by absorbing the nutrients.

Large Intestine

Reabsorbs water to create feces.

Rectum

Stores and expels the feces.

Anus

An opening for elimination of the feces.

Liver

Produces bile that aids in digestion, destroys poisons and toxins, destroys old blood cells and stores vitamins and iron.

Gallbladder

Stores the concentrate of bile and releases it into the duodenum to help break down food.

Pancreas

Produces insulin which helps regulate blood glucose levels and aids in digestion.

Gastrectomy

A removal of all or part of the stomach.

Cholecystectomy

Removal of the gallbladder.

Epiglottis

The flap that closes when food or water is swallowed, covering the trachea to prevent food and water from entering.

Cardiac Sphincter

The sphincter at the top of the stomach that allows food to enter into it.

Urinary System Structures

The structures are two kidneys, two ureters, one bladder, and one urethra.

Nephrons

Tiny structures in each kidney that filter the blood, with each kidney containing about 1 to 2 million nephrons.

Ureters

Small tubes composed of smooth muscle tissue that transport urine from the kidney to the bladder through peristaltic movement.

Bladder

A smooth muscular sac that expands as it fills with urine and can hold up to 1 L of urine.

Urinary System Function

Regulates the chemical composition of body fluids and removes body waste by filtering the blood.

Urologist

A specialist in issues related to the male and female urinary systems and also the male reproductive systems.

Nephrologist

A specialist who studies specifically the kidneys and would be the one ordering a patient's dialysis treatment.

Dialysis

The filtration of body fluids through a semipermeable membrane or machine instead of the kidneys to remove excess water and waste.

Hemodialysis

The filtration of blood from a vein filtered slowly through a machine and returned to the body, taking up to several hours and needing to be done two to three times a week.

Peritoneal Dialysis

A form of dialysis that uses the peritoneal membrane of the abdomen as a filter to remove waste from the body, performed at home with a surgically implanted tube.

Abdominal Cavity

Contains the stomach, gallbladder, pancreas, intestines, liver, spleen, adrenal glands, and kidneys.

Thoracic Cavity

Contains the lungs, heart, esophagus, trachea, and major blood vessels.

Pelvic Cavity

Contains the reproductive organs, bladder, and part of the digestive system.

Cranial Cavity

Contains the brain and some glands.

Spinal Cavity

Contains the spinal cord and nerves.