Health Assessment Exam 1 Review – Vocabulary Flashcards

These vocabulary flashcards cover key terms and concepts for assessing pain, differentiating prevention levels, understanding types of assessments, and recognizing fundamental physical-examination techniques and history components for the Health Assessment Exam 1.

Pain assessment

A systematic approach to evaluate pain that includes asking about location, intensity (0–10 scale), quality, onset, duration, and factors that make it better or worse.

0–10 pain scale

Numeric rating tool where 0 = no pain and 10 = worst imaginable pain; used to quantify pain intensity.

Onset (of pain)

The moment or circumstance in which pain begins.

Pain location

The specific body area or areas where the patient feels pain.

Pain quality

Descriptive characteristics of pain such as sharp, burning, stabbing, throbbing, aching, etc.

Provoking/alleviating factors

Activities or situations that increase (aggravate) or decrease (relieve) the patient’s pain.

Subjective nature of pain

Concept that pain is uniquely experienced and reported by each individual; objective measures cannot fully capture it.

Pain tolerance

The maximum level of pain a person is willing or able to endure; explains why two people may rate the same stimulus differently.

Acute pain

Short-term pain (usually <6 months) that has a sudden onset and is often related to tissue damage or injury.

Chronic pain

Persistent or recurring pain lasting ≥6 months, often beyond the expected period of healing.

Acceptable pain level

A patient-defined intensity of pain that allows adequate function and comfort; often a goal in pain management.

Nociceptive pain

Pain arising from actual or threatened damage to non-neural tissue and activated pain receptors (e.g., surgical incision).

Neuropathic pain

Pain caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system (e.g., diabetic neuropathy).

Referred pain

Pain felt at a site distant from the actual source of the problem (e.g., shoulder pain with gallbladder disease).

Phantom pain

Pain perceived in a body part that has been amputated or is no longer present.

Primary prevention

Actions taken to prevent disease before it occurs, such as immunizations, health education, exercise, and using seat belts.

Secondary prevention

Activities aimed at early disease detection and prompt intervention, including screenings like mammograms, BP checks, and colonoscopies.

Tertiary prevention

Measures that reduce complications or improve quality of life after disease onset, such as cardiac rehabilitation or physical therapy after a stroke.

Comprehensive assessment

A complete health history and full physical examination, typically performed at initial admission or primary care visit.

Focused (problem-based) assessment

An assessment concentrated on a specific complaint, body system, or functional ability identified by the patient.

Episodic/follow-up assessment

An evaluation conducted to monitor previously identified problems at regular or appropriate intervals.

Screening assessment

Short, focused exam performed for disease detection when a patient does not yet have symptoms.

Inspection

The first technique in physical examination; careful visual observation of the patient’s body and behavior.

Auscultation

Listening to internal body sounds, usually with a stethoscope, to assess organs such as heart, lungs, and bowel.

Percussion

Tapping on the body surface to produce sounds that help determine the size, consistency, and borders of underlying structures.

Palpation

Using hands to feel body structures for size, consistency, texture, tenderness, temperature, and mobility.

Family history

Information about health conditions of close biologic relatives (typically three generations) that may influence patient risk.

Past health history

Record of a patient’s previous illnesses, surgeries, hospitalizations, medications, allergies, and immunizations.