Respiratory and Cardiac Nursing Concepts

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the anatomy, physiology, diagnostic signs, adventitious sounds, calculations, and clinical management of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

Respiration

The overall physiological process of taking oxygen into the body, delivering it to cells, utilizing it, and eliminating carbon dioxide.

Inhalation (Inspiration)

The active phase of breathing during which the diaphragm contracts and moves downward, thoracic cavity volume expands, intrapulmonic pressure decreases, and air enters the lungs.

Exhalation (Expiration)

The passive phase of breathing during which the diaphragm relaxes and moves upward, thoracic volume decreases, intrapulmonic pressure increases, and air containing $CO_2$ exits the lungs.

Mucus

A sticky fluid secreted in the airway that functions to capture dust, microbes, and foreign particulate matter.

Alveoli

Microscopic air sacs at the terminal ends of the bronchial tree where gas exchange between oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place.

Surfactant

A surface-active lipoprotein produced by type II alveolar cells that lowers surface tension within alveoli to keep them open and prevent collapse.

Interstitial Edema

Abnormal fluid collection in the interstitial tissues surrounding the alveoli that impairs gas exchange by increasing the distance gases must diffuse.

Emphysema

A chronic pulmonary disease marked by the progressive destruction of alveolar walls, loss of elastic recoil, and air trapping.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

A progressive respiratory condition characterized by persistent expiratory airflow limitation, primarily encompassing emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Left-Sided Heart Failure

A cardiac condition where the left ventricle cannot effectively pump blood forward into systemic circulation, causing blood and hydrostatic pressure to back up into the pulmonary vasculature and lungs.

Right-Sided Heart Failure

A cardiac condition where the right ventricle fails to pump blood forward into the pulmonary circulation, causing blood to pool backward into systemic veins and peripheral tissues.

Orthopnea

Dyspnea or discomfort in breathing that develops when a patient is lying flat and is typically relieved by sitting upright.

Labored Breathing

Respiration requiring abnormal physical exertion, manifested clinically by tachypnea, accessory muscle use, intercostal retractions, nasal flaring, and tripod positioning.

Obstructive Respiratory Disorders

A category of respiratory diseases where narrowed or blocked airways create resistance that makes it difficult to exhale air out of the lungs.

Restrictive Respiratory Disorders

A category of pulmonary disorders characterized by stiffened lung tissue or chest wall constraints that prevent normal lung expansion, reducing total volume during inhalation.

Crackles

Discontinuous, popping or bubbling adventitious breath sounds caused by fluid in the small airways or the sudden re-expansion of collapsed alveoli.

Wheezing

A continuous, high-pitched whistling or musical breath sound produced by turbulent airflow traveling through narrowed or constricted airways.

Rhonchi

Low-pitched, coarse, snoring adventitious breath sounds produced by mucus and secretions in the large airways that often clear after coughing.

Pleural Friction Rub

A harsh, grating or rubbing adventitious lung sound caused by the friction of inflamed visceral and parietal pleural surfaces sliding across one another.

Vesicular Breath Sounds

Normal, soft, low-pitched breath sounds heard across the peripheral lung fields during auscultation.

Bronchovesicular Breath Sounds

Normal, medium-pitched breath sounds auscultated over the moderate-sized airways and major bronchi.

Bronchial Breath Sounds

Normal, loud, high-pitched, tubular breath sounds heard directly over the anterior neck and trachea.

Ventilation

The mechanical movement of air into and out of the lungs.

Diffusion

The passive transfer of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules across the alveolar-capillary membrane from higher to lower concentration.

Perfusion

The continuous flow of blood through pulmonary capillaries and systemic vascular beds to supply tissues with oxygen and nutrients.

Hypoxia

A state of insufficient oxygen delivery at the cellular and tissue level to meet metabolic demand.

Hypercapnia

An abnormal retention and elevation of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) within the bloodstream.

Induration

A palpable, raised, hardened area of skin measured in millimeters to interpret a tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) skin test.

Hemoglobin (Hgb)

The iron-containing erythrocyte protein responsible for binding and transporting oxygen, with typical adult ranges of $13.5\text{ to }17.5\,\text{g/dL}$ for males and $12\text{ to }16\,\text{g/dL}$ for females.

Quad Cough

An assisted airway-clearance technique where an inward and upward thrust is placed on the abdomen during expiration to assist patients with paralyzed or weakened abdominal musculature.

Huff Cough

An airway-clearance technique involving forced exhalation with an open glottis while whispering 'huff' to move secretions from small to larger airways without triggering airway collapse.

Cascade Cough

A coughing maneuver where a patient inhales deeply and performs a successive series of progressively forceful coughs throughout a single exhalation.

Stroke Volume (SV)

The volume of blood pumped out of a single cardiac ventricle with each beat, with a normal adult value of approximately $60\text{ to }100\,\text{mL/beat}$.

Myocardial Contractility

The intrinsic force and squeeze generated by the myocardium during systole.

Afterload

The vascular resistance against which the ventricles must pump in order to eject blood into circulation.

Preload

The end-diastolic volume and stretch placed on ventricular myocytes immediately before contraction.

Cardiac Index (CI)

A normalized measure of cardiac output relative to a patient's body surface area ($\text{CI} = \frac{\text{CO}}{\text{BSA}}$), normally ranging from $2.5\text{ to }4.0\,\text{L/min/m}^2$.

Cardiac Output (CO)

The total volume of blood pumped by the heart per minute, calculated as heart rate multiplied by stroke volume ($\text{CO} = \text{HR} \times \text{SV}$).

P Wave

The deflection on an electrocardiogram (EKG) that denotes atrial electrical depolarization.

QRS Complex

The electrocardiogram waveform complex representing rapid ventricular electrical depolarization prior to ventricular contraction.

T Wave

The electrocardiogram deflection representing electrical repolarization and resting recovery of the ventricles.

Water Seal Chamber

The chamber in a chest drainage unit that acts as a one-way valve, allowing fluid and air to exit the pleural space while preventing outside air from entering.

Tidaling

The normal respiratory fluctuation of the water level in the chest tube water seal chamber, which rises during inspiration and falls during expiration in spontaneously breathing patients.

Incentive Spirometer

A bedside medical device designed to guide and encourage sustained, slow, deep oral inhalation to expand collapsed alveoli and prevent atelectasis.

Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS)

A neonatal pulmonary condition seen in premature infants resulting from inadequate endogenous surfactant, leading to widespread alveolar collapse and hypoxemia.