EMT Chapters 3-7 Comprehensive Vocabulary Review

Vocabulary study flashcards created from Chapters 3 through 7 EMT Study Guides, covering patient lifting and moving, legal and ethical standards, medical terminology, anatomical directions, systemic anatomy, and pathophysiology.

Recommended move for transferring a patient without a suspected spinal injury from a bed to a stretcher

Draw-sheet method

Proper use of the body to facilitate lifting and moving objects safely

Body mechanics

Three primary considerations to review prior to initiating any lift

The object, your physical limitations, and communication

Type of patient move required when an immediate environmental threat to life exists

Emergency move

Specialized stretcher rated to carry patients weighing up to $800\,\text{lbs}$ or more

Bariatric stretcher

Stretcher device best suited for maneuvering through narrow hallways or restricted spaces

Flexible stretcher

Standard transport device also known as the ambulance cot or litter

Wheeled ambulance stretcher

Preferred number of rescuers and their roles when operating a stair chair

Three rescuers: two actively carrying the chair and one acting as a spotter

Direction a patient should be moved during an emergency move to minimize worsening of a spinal injury

In the direction of the long axis of the body

Rigid device used to immobilize a patient with a suspected spinal injury

Long backboard

Move used to transfer a seated patient without suspected spinal or extremity injuries from a wheelchair to a stretcher

Extremity lift

Recommended body position when pulling a weight below waist level

Kneeling position

Recommended foot positioning to establish a stable base when lifting

Feet positioned approximately shoulder-width apart

Primary benefit of a stair chair equipped with a track-like system over a traditional stair chair

It allows the chair to slide down stairs, eliminating the need to manually lift the patient down each step

Movement technique used when life threats exist but time permits brief spinal precautions

Urgent move

Lifting technique using full contact of the palm and all fingers around the handle

Power grip

Minimum distance hands should be placed apart when applying a power grip

At least $10\,\text{inches}$

Lifting position also known as the squat-lift technique

Power lift

Recommended transport position for an unconscious patient who is breathing adequately and has no suspected spinal injury

Recovery position

Ground-to-stretcher lift performed by multiple kneeling rescuers who curl the patient against their chests

Direct ground lift

Typical safe weight capacity rating for battery-powered hydraulic stretchers

Approximately $700\,\text{lbs}$

Primary responsibility of an EMT once a crime scene has been secured by police

Providing patient care

EMT obligation to provide care to a patient as a formal or legal responsibility

Duty to act

Legal boundaries, permissions, and limitations defining what an EMT is allowed to perform

Scope of practice

Level of care expected to be provided by an EMT with similar training under similar conditions

Standard of care

Legal doctrine allowing an authorized school authority to grant consent for a minor in place of a parent

In loco parentis

Explicit permission granted by a mentally competent adult prior to receiving care

Expressed consent

Legal assumption of consent applied to an unconscious or incapacitated adult needing emergency treatment

Implied consent

Federal legislation regulating the storage, access, and disclosure of protected health information

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)

False written statement that damages another person's reputation

Libel

False spoken statement that damages another person's reputation

Slander

Legal order signed by a patient and physician directing healthcare providers to withhold resuscitation

Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order

Termination of patient care without proper handoff to an equal or higher-level healthcare provider

Abandonment

Element of negligence establishing a direct cause-and-effect connection between breach of duty and patient injury

Proximate causation

Anatomical term for lying face down

Prone

Anatomical term for lying face up

Supine

Anatomical position describing a patient sitting upright or semi-upright with legs extended

Fowler position

Directional term meaning farther from the trunk or point of attachment along an extremity

Distal

Directional term meaning closer to the trunk or point of attachment along an extremity

Proximal

Imaginary vertical line dividing the human body into equal right and left halves

Midline

Imaginary vertical line extending down the side of the chest from the center of the armpit

Midaxillary line

Directional term meaning away from the midline or toward the side of the body

Lateral

Directional term meaning toward the midline of the body

Medial

Term describing a condition or injury occurring on both sides of the body

Bilateral

Four abdominal divisions created by two perpendicular imaginary lines intersecting at the navel

Abdominal quadrants (RUQ, LUQ, RLQ, LLQ)

Word element added to the beginning of a medical root word to modify its meaning

Prefix

Medical prefix denoting rapid or fast

tachy-

Medical prefix denoting slow

brady-

Perspective required when determining anatomical left and right directions

The patient's perspective

Bony prominence landmark located at the ankle

Malleolus

Only movable bone of the skull and facial structure

Mandible

Cellular blood components essential for initiating blood clot formation

Platelets

Involuntary muscle type controlling the constriction and dilation of bronchioles in the lungs

Smooth muscle

Microscopic blood vessels facilitating direct gas, nutrient, and waste exchange with cells

Capillaries

Study of external surface landmarks used to identify underlying internal anatomical structures

Topography

Abdominal organ acting as a reservoir for storing blood

Spleen

Anatomical term for the shoulder blade

Scapula

Phase of ventilation requiring active muscular contraction of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles

Inhalation

Two most easily injured and mobile regions of the spinal column

Cervical and lumbar

Most inferior portion of the sternum

Xiphoid process

Pulse point located on the dorsum or top surface of the foot

Dorsalis pedis pulse

Outermost layer of the skin exposed directly to the environment

Epidermis

Blood pressure reading created against arterial walls during left ventricular contraction

Systolic blood pressure

Flap-like cartilage closing over the laryngeal opening during swallowing to protect the airway

Epiglottis

Blood vessels branching directly off the aorta to supply oxygenated blood to the heart muscle

Coronary arteries

Strongest, most muscular chamber of the heart pumping blood into systemic circulation

Left ventricle

Larger, weight-bearing bone of the lower leg

Tibia

Property of cardiac muscle tissue allowing it to generate its own electrical impulses

Automaticity

Bone located on the lateral (thumb) side of the forearm

Radius

Anatomical term for the heel bone

Calcaneus

Large, flared upper wing portion of the pelvic bone

Ilium

Medical condition defined as a state of inadequate tissue perfusion

Shock

System of glands that secretes hormones directly into the bloodstream to regulate body functions

Endocrine system

Liquid portion of blood comprising more than half of total blood volume

Plasma

Blood vessel carrying deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle to the lungs

Pulmonary artery

Metabolic process occurring without oxygen that generates little energy and yields lactic acid

Anaerobic metabolism

Efficient metabolic process using oxygen to convert glucose into large amounts of ATP

Aerobic metabolism

Organ responsible for secreting the hormone insulin

Pancreas

Medical term for the fraction of inspired oxygen in inhaled air

\text{FiO}_2

Volume of inhaled air remaining in conducting airways that does not participate in gas exchange

Dead air space (approximately $150\,\text{mL}$)

Specialized vascular sensors that detect changes in blood vessel wall pressure

Stretch receptors

State of inadequate oxygen delivery at the tissue and cellular level

Hypoxia

Active cell membrane mechanism that moves ions to prepare the cell for electrical depolarization

Sodium-potassium pump

Concentration percentage of oxygen found in ambient room air

$$21\%$$

Cellular energy molecule produced in the mitochondria that powers cell function

ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)

Brainstem region containing the primary centers responsible for respiratory control

Medulla oblongata

Cellular structure responsible for synthesizing proteins

Endoplasmic reticulum

Substances that separate into charged particles (ions) when dissolved in solution

Electrolytes

Infection or inflammation of the protective coverings surrounding the brain and spinal cord

Meningitis

Condition characterized by a reduced count of circulating red blood cells or hemoglobin

Anemia

Term indicating an open and unobstructed respiratory passage

Patent airway

Volume of air moved into and out of the lungs during a single normal breath cycle

Tidal volume

Chemical mediator released in hypersensitivity reactions causing bronchoconstriction and swelling

Histamine

Space between body cells and blood vessels where excess fluid collects during edema

Interstitial space

Passive phase of normal respiration resulting from muscle relaxation and chest recoil

Exhalation

Force exerted by the heart muscle during contraction to move blood forward

Contractility

Inward pulling pressure exerted by large plasma proteins to keep fluid inside capillaries

Plasma oncotic pressure

Outward pushing force exerted by fluid against blood vessel walls

Hydrostatic pressure

Accumulation of excess fluid within the interstitial tissue spaces

Edema

Volume of air moved in and out of the lungs in one minute, calculated as tidal volume multiplied by respiratory rate

Minute volume